is the aurora known as the northern lights visible in massachusetts? and what time of year could i see it?

Question

BYAH

Answer 1

Sometimes. Boston has a "magnetic latitude" of 51.7, which means you should be able to see geomagnetic storms with a Kp of about 7 and a NOAA POES Auroral Activity Level of about 10. It's not impossible--you do sometimes get Aurora much further south in North America. But it is more rare.

Follow the first link below and you'll find a graph of recent KP levels. Follow the second link where you'll find an illustration of Sunday's storm--detected by satellites--with a NOAA POES Auroral Activity Level of about 8 and a Kp about 5. You'll find it didn't really come near Massachusetts. Yet this was one of the strongest recent geomagnetic storms.

There are some factors that would affect what time of year you would see Aurora. They don't happen only at night, but you can't really see them when the sun's up. The nights are longer in winter, so your chances areslightly better than summer for viewing Aurora. You will also see them much better on a clear night than on a cloudy night. The light pollution from a nearby city will affect your ability to see Aurora as well.

But actual geomagnetic activity has more to do with the weather on the sun, sunspot activity in particular. That fluctuates from day to day, but seems to be on an 11-year cycle, overall. This year happens to be about the lowest point on that cycle for sunspots, geomagnetic storms, and Aurora. Wait about another 5 or 6 years, and Massachusetts will probably see some doozies.

Answer 2

The northern lights can sometimes be seen in New England. It has nothing to do with the time of year; it depends on the extent of solar sunspot activity. When the sun is abnormally active, it expels more charged particles which cause more intense northern lights visible over a wider area. This goes in a roughly 11-year cycle.

Answer 3

The Northern Lights can be seen in Massachusetts and in other areas a little farther south. It can best be seen during the winter, but it is rare to see it so far south of the Arctic Circle.

Answer 4

Definitely possible - a collegue of mine saw them in Rhode Island a couple years ago, and my Mom remembers seeing them in Connecticut when she was young. Unfortunately I've lived in southern New England most of my life and I've never seen them :-(

Answer 5

first you know the defination of arurae.
the earth's magnetic field streatches into sky to protect us from sun's high energy. this is called arurae. this can be seen in midinght and can be seen anywhere. it is sooo rare to see. it has uncountable colours that is why it sometimes darkens our visiability. Most possible it can be looked in summer.

Answer 6

Maybe, in the winter, get away from Boston the light pollution will stop you from seeing it