Northern Lights 2025: New opportunity to view dazzling light display in Delaware Valley
The Brief
Heads up: it's looking like we'll see the Northern Lights across the Philadelphia area Sunday night.
A strong solar storm occurred Friday, presenting the Northeast with another opportunity to see the Northern Lights Sunday night.
PHILADELPHIA - Several times in 2024, the Northern Lights were visible in the region, which is an unusual and rare occurrence for the area. Another opportunity to view the beautiful spectacle is presenting itself Sunday night, scientists say.
What we know
Remember when everyone was seeing the Northern Lights across southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and South Jersey one night last October?
We got to see the Northern Lights so much farther south than usual because of what forecasters called a "G4 (Severe) Geomagnetic Storm."
That strong of a solar storm is pretty rare, and forecasters are calling for another Sunday night.
The backstory
The sun constantly sends charged energy into space. While Earth's magnetic field blocks out most of it, some of it sneaks in around the North and South Pole, leading to the northern and southern lights in those places.
Occasionally, a much bigger blast of charged energy leaves the sun, and that's exactly what happened on Friday. You can see an example of that on X, here.
"Confidence in an Earth-arrival component to this [energy] is good" says the branch of the National Weather Service that focuses on space weather. "However, timing and intensity are more uncertain," they note.
Timeline
Right now, they anticipate 9 to 11 p.m. as the best time for you to see the Northern Lights with your own eyes Sunday night in the Philadelphia area.
If you head outside, but don't see anything, try taking a picture with your cell phone on the night sight setting where it takes five to 10 seconds to capture a picture. Phones can capture the Northern Lights when our eyes cannot. However, Sunday night's anticipated Northern Lights should be strong enough to see when you look up.
What you can do
If you see them, share your picture with Kathy Orr and FOX29. You might see one on air during our weather forecasts.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
23 minutes ago
- Associated Press
What is Shavuot? The Jewish festival that started hours after Boulder, Colorado, attack
Sunday afternoon's attack in Boulder, Colorado, took place hours before the start of a major Jewish festival, Shavuot. Authorities say a man used a flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into a group holding one of its regular rallies in solidarity with Israeli hostages in Gaza. Eight people were injured, some with burns. What is Shavuot? Shavuot (pronounced Shah-voo-OTE), Hebrew for 'weeks,' has been observed since biblical times. It marks the passing of seven weeks (49 days) from the holiday of Passover, with Shavuot falling on the 50th day. In biblical times, Shavuot was an agricultural festival, when Israelites would bring harvest offerings to the temple. Today, it's primarily commemorated as the traditional date on which God gave the Torah — the law that forms the heart of the Jewish Scriptures — to Moses on Mount Sinai, as described in the Bible. The 50-day time period gives the festival its Greek name, Pentecost, which is also the name for a holy day on the Christian calendar. When is Shavuot? Shavuot falls on the 6th of Sivan on the Jewish calendar, which reckons days as beginning at sundown. This year, Shavuot began Sunday evening and continues for one or two days, depending on tradition. For Jews inside Israel and for Reform Jews, the festival lasts for one day. Other traditions outside of Israel observe Shavuot for two days, ending Tuesday evening this year. (The variation stems from different traditions on when to observe lunar holidays, which historically were based on moon observations in ancient Israel.) Shavuot typically falls in May or June on the Gregorian calendar. How is Shavuot observed? Jews celebrate with readings of the biblical book of Exodus, including the Ten Commandments. Some mark the occasion with all-night readings from the Torah and other religious texts. Observant Jews refrain from work on Shavuot. The biblical book of Ruth, about a woman who embraces the Jewish faith, is often read and studied. Shavuot celebrations are often marked by the consumption of dairy products, such as cheesecake and cheese-filled blintzes. Explanations for this tradition vary; one is that the Torah is like nourishing milk for the spirit. Reform Judaism has traditionally connected Shavuot to its rite of confirmation for teens, in which they affirmed their commitment to Jewish life. Somber observances Tragically, this year's Shavuot is not the first time in recent memory that Jews have marked a normally festive holiday in grim circumstances. Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, claiming about 1,200 lives, took place on Simchat Torah, a date when Jews celebrate the completion of their year-long cycle of Torah readings. Sunday's gathering in Boulder was to raise attention for the 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, who are still being held by Hamas. ___ Sources: 'What is a Jew?' by Rabbis Morris N. Kertzer and Lawrence A. Hoffman; Jewish Agency for Israel; JCC Association of North America. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Bloomberg
32 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Perelman Fight Over $410 Million in Art Insurance Spurs NY Trial
Nearly seven years after a fire ripped through Ron Perelman's Hamptons home, he is asking a New York state judge to force insurers to pay him more than $400 million for five paintings he says were damaged in the blaze. A trial is under way today in lower Manhattan over a lawsuit Perelman filed two years after the fire. In the suit, he claims that affiliates of Lloyd's of London Ltd., Chubb Ltd. and American International Group Inc. agreed to issue policies that 'protected one of the largest private modern art collections in the world from any damage, no matter how slight,' but balked when he sought compensation for the most expensive pieces in the residence. Those included works by Andy Warhol and Cy Twombly.
CNN
35 minutes ago
- CNN
‘Rolling around in flames': Hear 911 dispatch calls during Boulder antisemitism attack
First responders in Boulder, Colorado, were "bombarded" with 911 calls after a man used a flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to set people on fire at a Jewish community event.
