Northern lights forecast tonight full#

вЂњIвЂ™ve seen sunset-to-sunrise displays,вЂќ he said. Washington Observatory, a scientific and educational nonprofit atop that peak, has seen the northern lights about three dozen times in the past 15 years. Since the ski area faces north with little light pollution, this is one of the more accessible places in New England to hunt for the aurora borealis. Washington in the small town of Carroll, is the Bretton Woods ski resort at the Omni Mount Washington Resort. (But on clear nights, with an unobstructed and darkened vantage point of the northern horizon, they can occasionally be seen from fall through early spring as far south as Pennsylvania - in 1958, viewers witnessed an extremely rare aurora display from Mexico City.) The equinox months of March and September are the most ideal times to catch the display.

Northern lights forecast tonight full#

The lights are not visible on full moon nights or amid city lights and rarely in summer. The aurora borealis, which often blazes for half-hour cycles followed by two hours of dormancy, can be seen only after dark, with the hours surrounding midnight offering the most optimal viewing conditions. These places are also rich in recreational opportunities in case the weather fails to cooperate or you sleep through the alarm. HereвЂ™s a selection of outdoor destinations in the continental United States that offer a chance to see the northern lights if your timing is right. The fact that there are no guarantees to see the lights makes a sighting all the more spectacular. Patience is mandatory, along with clear, darkened skies and an aurora forecast in order to catch the elusive spectacle. With careful planning, timing and luck, bearing witness to the aurora borealis in the Lower 48 is one of the greatest yet most rarely seen spectacles for anyone willing to sacrifice a bit of sleep. One neednвЂ™t incur frostbite, climb to high altitude or journey to Sweden or the AlaskaвЂ™s Far North to see the northern lights. Charged particles from the sun had entered the EarthвЂ™s magnetic field thousands of miles above, and as they rained into the planetвЂ™s upper atmosphere, the particles collided with nitrogen and oxygen atoms, lighting the sky with rose pink and pale green bands of shimmering light.

Like other aurora borealis sightings IвЂ™d had in New Hampshire and Alaska, the glow transformed into green strobes, as if multiple search beams were working the sky. I couldnвЂ™t believe that I was seeing the northern lights. The sky was ablaze with stars, and as I looked up for the Big Dipper and the North Star, I noticed that the far horizon pulsated in a green glow. The forecast is updated around 6pm daily so itвЂ™s best to keep a close eye on the forecast before heading out on your hunt.ДЇor more information on viewing the Northern Lights in winter time, please read this article.Several years ago, on a cold, mid-March evening at about 10 p.m., I took my dogs out for a walk beyond the lights of our home in Carbondale, Colo. When it is partly cloudy (light green areas) you still have a chance seeing the lights by finding a gap in the clouds. The reason why we want to have the areas without clouds (or light clouds) is because it is impossible to see the lights when the sky is covered with clouds. The light green means partly cloudy and dark green means very cloudy so a low chance for sightings as the visibility is low.Д«asically if you can see the stars, then you have a chance of seeing the lights. This is ideal as you need to have a clear sky to see the Northern Lights. The white colour in the forecast means no clouds, so clear sky. On the map you can see areas of white, light green and dark green. The white areas are where you need to head for. ItвЂ™s a little confusing as the green colour is very similar to the colour of the actual Northern Lights but in fact the map shows green as cloud coverage and white as clear skies. The map is updated daily and gives you an indication of Northern Lights viewing.