The night skies over Long Island were treated to an extraordinary display of nature’s beauty, as the aurora borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, made a rare appearance far south of its usual Arctic stage. This stunning light show was the result of a significant geomagnetic storm that occurred on Thursday, turning the sky into a canvas of vibrant colors.
Geomagnetic storms are disturbances in Earth’s magnetosphere caused by a solar wind shock wave and/or cloud of magnetic field that interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field. The recent storm was triggered by a coronal mass ejection (CME), a significant release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the solar corona, which followed a strong solar flare that erupted from the sun.
Residents of the North Fork of Long Island and beyond were fortunate to witness the aurora borealis, a phenomenon typically confined to higher latitudes. The geomagnetic storm was strong enough to push the aurora’s visibility further south, allowing a broader audience to experience the ethereal dance of green and pink lights in the sky.
The geomagnetic storm is ranked a G4 on a scale of 1-5, and the Kp Index, the measure of auroral strength, is 8 on a scale that tops at 9. A Kp index of 5 is generally required for the aurora borealis to be visible. Patch notes that due to the fickle nature of the shimmering curtains of pink, red, green and yellow, some people have taken to calling them “Lady Aurora.” The strong solar flares and high Kp indexes don’t always translate to light displays.
The aurora borealis is a result of collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the Earth’s atmosphere. These collisions emit light of varying color and complexity. The most common auroral color, a pale green, is produced by oxygen molecules located about 60 miles above the earth. Rare, all-red auroras are produced by high-altitude oxygen at heights of up to 200 miles. Nitrogen produces blue or purplish-red aurora.
The occurrence of such a geomagnetic storm also brings with it potential disruptions to technology. The charged particles can interfere with satellite operations, GPS navigation, and power grid functions. However, the Space Weather Prediction Center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), monitors these storms to provide timely warnings to mitigate such impacts.
For those who were lucky enough to witness the Northern Lights this far south, it was a moment of awe and appreciation for one of the most spectacular natural phenomena on Earth.
