The Northern Lights May Be Visible From New Jersey This Weekend And You Won't Want To Miss It

Big news, New Jersey! The Northern Lights may be visible from the Garden State this weekend, so we’re in for a treat! A rare geomagnetic storm is set to cause high levels of Aurora activity, meaning that the colorful display may be seen as far south as Bloomington, Indiana, Annapolis, Maryland, and all of New Jersey.

Flickr/Claudia Regina

The science is quite complex, but here are the basics: The Northern Lights (also called the Aurora Borealis) are caused by electrons from solar winds and solar flares. They are attracted to the North Pole by the higher concentration of magnetic fields found there. They mix with gases in the atmosphere, causing the gases to glow.

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Flickr/Gunnar Hildonen

It means a colorful show! The Aurora Borealis is most often pink or green (though you may see yellow, blue, violet, and, rarely, orange or white). The lights appear in many forms, from patches or scattered clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains and shooting rays.

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Image/Kristen Koennemannn

Look out at the sky on Saturday night! (March 23rd). It should be clear over much of the state. Prime viewing time is after 10 p.m.. However, we are not in the optimal viewing area (note the makeshift map I put together). This means that we'll likely have a more subdued show, if any. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Of course, I won’t leave you guessing…You can get updated Aurora reports every 30 minutes from the NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION by clicking here.