Perseid meteor shower, northern lights combine for unforgettable show above Massachusetts
ROCKPORT - Stargazers in New England were treated to not just one, but two incredible sights in the night sky: The Perseid meteor shower and the northern lights.
Takako Moriguchi and her husband Rick Domannwoke up at 1 a.m. Monday and drove from Belmont to Rockport.
"We checked the KPI index to see aurora activity and this morning was predicted to be very good," Moriguchi told WBZ-TV.
Even with the naked eye, they could see reddish and green colors on the horizon. They also saw about 20 to 30 shooting stars over a span of an hour and a half.
Moriguchi managed to capture a photo on her iPhone of a meteor alongside the northern lights.
"I will definitely remember this all my life," she said.
"Phenomenal" view of northern lights and Perseid meteors
The Perseids are considered to be the best meteor show of the year as Earth passes through a thick layer of rock and ice debris from comet Swift-Tuttle. While Sunday night was the peak, meteors may still be visible in the sky for the next several evenings.
The couple said the parking lot for the state park in Rockport was about half full in the middle of the night with people trying to get a glimpse of the show.
"It was phenomenal, it was celestial," Domann said. "It was very, very interesting and cool."
Northern lights in New England
Further north in New England, the aurora was even more spectacular. The Mount Washington Observatory, atop the region's highest peak, shared a timelapse of the northern lights from the summit.
Time-lapse of the aurora as seen from the summit earlier this morning. The lights on the right side correspond to Berlin, NH and the lights on the left side correspond to Lancaster, NH. The center of the video corresponds to roughly due north. pic.twitter.com/8xGWeT2SHM
— Mount Washington Observatory (MWO) (@MWObs) August 12, 2024
The National Weather Service also shared a photo from its Caribou, Maine office of the dazzling red, pink and green skies.
If you got the chance tonight, check out the northern lights! Here is a picture we just took at the office as of 11:15 PM EDT. #MEwx pic.twitter.com/LPBmD2k27n
— NWS Caribou (@NWSCaribou) August 12, 2024
Northern lights forecast
The sun continues to be very active and what was a G3 class storm has been elevated to a G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm.
This level of activity is somewhat rare and given what happened Sunday night, there is a decent chance of a repeat performance.
Auroras are notoriously hard to predict. However, current activity levels remain high, and many scientists believe that low latitude auroras are likely again overnight
It's important to find a dark expanse of sky for a chance at viewing the aurora. It doesn't take much artificial light to wash out the show.
Perseid meteor shower forecast
There will once again be a chance to see the rare pairing in the night sky Monday with the ongoing Perseid meteor shower.
The peak of the Perseids was Sunday night, however, there will almost certainly be some spillover or "leftovers" Monday night.
The best chance for seeing some shooting stars will come on the later side, after the moon sets around midnight.
Much like with the aurora, your best bet is to find an area without any artificial light and a wide view of the open sky. The viewing conditions will be nearly ideal with any of the daytime clouds from the afternoon melting away during the early portion of the evening.