‘Low chance' for seeing Northern Lights in New England on Aug. 19 and 20
It will be a similar situation up north tomorrow night, according to Mahan.
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The Northern Lights are the result of electrons colliding with the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center, and can be seen from as much as 600 miles away if the conditions are right.
But that doesn't appear likely this time around, at least in New England.
Shawn Dahl, a service coordinator with the Space Weather Prediction Center, said the aurora might be dimly visible in northern Maine Tuesday night, depending on the level of geomagnetic storm activity (G1 is minor, G2 is moderate, G3 is strong, G4 is severe, and G5 is extreme).
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'There is a slight chance (but low probability) that the aurora might be dimly visible low along the horizon of northern Maine if we reach G1 levels of activity,' Dahl said in an email. 'It would take a G2 or higher event for the aurora to likely be visible over northern VT or NH. Currently we are forecasting a maximum of G1 activity tonight into tomorrow morning.'
Emily Sweeney can be reached at
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