Weather permitting, Long Islanders might be able to catch a glimpse of a rare event around these parts: the northern lights.
According to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, a sputtering of material from the sun called a Coronal-Mass Ejection (CME) was observed on Monday is hitting earth now. The solar wind produced by this phenomenon pushes out charged particles that interact with the earth;s atmosphere causing the spectacular northern lights, also sometimes known as the aurora borealis.
This latest CME has given Long Islanders to possibly observe an arora over local skies, if conditions are right and you are very patient. While the peak viewing opportunity was on Wednesday, scientists say you still might be able to observe the event until Friday.
But don’t expect the sensational display that the northern lights are known for. Reports say that our arora will be very faint or possibly occur during the daytime negating an opportunity for viewing.
Still, we might get lucky so keep those eyes peeled if you are in a dark area tonight. You might see something amazing in the sky.