New York residents are set to be treated to a spectacular heavenly display on the evening of Tuesday, January 20 as a solar storm is anticipated to light up the night sky for the second day in a row, reports say.
A severe G4-level geomagnetic storm watch has been issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center following a coronal mass ejection from the sun that originally took place on Sunday. This is having the effect of making the Northern Lights - AKA Aurora Borealis, a celestial light show caused by charged particles from the sun colliding with gases in Earth's atmosphere - far more visible than usual.
The increased visibility of the Northern Lights will be apparent in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, according to reports.
The lights may be viewable as early as nightfall, although prime viewing time is anticipated to take place between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Eastern Time. For maximum visibility, watchers are encouraged to view the phenomenon as far away from city lights as possible and from an elevated vantage point facing to the North. Clouds could negatively impact visibility.