Stars are likely to be out tonight, but so too could the northern lights appear in the night sky over Massachusetts this week.
For Monday night into Tuesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a geomagnetic storm watch after coronal mass ejections shot out from the sun on Sunday.
“When [coronal mass ejections] arrive at Earth, a geomagnetic storm can result,” forecasters wrote. “Watches of this level are not uncommon.”
This moderate storm, a G2 geomagnetic storm, is expected on Tuesday. It comes after G4 storms, categorized by forecasters as severe storms, were flung across Earth on Monday. These storms’ severity can cause a “major disturbance in Earth’s magnetic field,” forecasters wrote.
Space forecasters anticipate that the aurora will be visible over some northern and upper Midwest States.
States like Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. According to forecast maps, Massachusetts is not expected to get a view of the northern lights.
Going into Tuesday, this line of sight is expected to move north, limiting how many Americans can see the northern lights as the week continues. If anything, people who want to see the northern lights are recommended to head as far north as possible. Though much of Canada should have a clear view.
So while Massachusetts is not expected to see the aurora Monday night and Tuesday, there’s still some room to catch the Perseid meteor shower as its peak concludes on Tuesday.
It must also be dark for space watchers to see the aurora, the NOAA notes. The federal agency recommends going out at night to view the display and getting away from the lights of the city and full moon.
