Photos show the northern lights in the Philadelphia region
The northern lights were visible across the Philadelphia region on Thursday night as plenty of residents snapped photos of the historic event.
The lights became visible around the Philly area on Thursday night after central Pennsylvania got a glimpse of the northern lights earlier this week.
On X, user @philatticus wrote: "YO WHAT" in regards to the northern lights outside his home.
YO WHAT pic.twitter.com/IquDocUz52
— #1 canyon aeroad fan (@philatticus) October 10, 2024
Derrick Pitts, the chief astronomer at the Franklin Institute took a photo of the aurora borealis from Wynnefield.
Derrick Pitts, chief astronomer at the @TheFranklin, took this photo of the aurora borealis from Wynnefield. @NOAA says a severe geomagnetic storm is creating a dazzling northern lights display in the Delaware Valley and elsewhere in the country where it’s normally not visible. pic.twitter.com/PhpCYGTbH7
— Madeleine Wright (@MWrightReports) October 11, 2024
Viewers sent plenty of photos of the northern lights to CBS News Philadelphia.
KDKA in Pittsburgh reports that using night mode might help you get a better photo of the aurora with your phone.
What are the northern lights?
The northern lights are visible when a solar flare spews large amounts of magnetized plasma known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) into space.
When those CMEs are directed at Earth, they can create a geomagnetic storm, which, according to NASA, creates a major disturbance in our magnetic field. These storms produce the northern lights, but they can also lead to power outages and sometimes radio blackouts.
Luckily, the Philadelphia region was in the viewing line of the northern lights on Thursday night. Earlier this year, Philadelphia was unlucky when the region had a chance to see the aurora in May.
The lights are best viewed away from light pollution, and wouldn't be visible in the city. The National Park Service links here to multiple night sky maps showing you where to get away from light pollution around Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.