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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) —New England might be able to view the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, on Saturday due to a geomagnetic storm.
A moderate geomagnetic storm watch was put in effect for Saturday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
According to NOAA, a geomagnetic storm occurs when Earth’s magnetosphere is disturbed. Plasma from the sun is expected to hit Earth, which would cause the storm.
“But we really don’t know how well the plasma will connect with Earth’s magnetosphere until it gets here,” NOAA’s Jonathan Lesh said. “If it gets here and it connects particularly well, it could be a little bit stronger than we forecasted. And if that’s the case, that helps people in New England. It will bring the Aurora a little bit further south and make it a little bit more pronounced.”
According to Lesh, viewing the Northern Lights in New England may be difficult.
“Further north you go, take a look at your local weather forecast and try to see if you can find viewing conditions that would be clear. If you have a lot of cloud cover in your local area, see if you can drive to a place where it’s forecast to be less cloud cover. Get away from city lights. And unfortunately, the moon is something that is hard to get away from,” Lesh said.