The skies over New Hampshire lit up in shades of green, pink and purple on Tuesday night, and the northern lights might even make another appearance tonight if the weather holds up.
Vanessa Perkins, a Concord resident who has witnessed these colorful electromagnetic displays a few times before, said this one was particularly vivid and easy to see with the naked eye.
“You could spot some pink and green in the sky without a camera,” Perkins said. She watched the lights from her home on Manor Road, a little after 8 p.m.
“I’d say this one was pretty huge. It’s breathtaking to see nature at its finest.”
The aurora borealis, or northern lights, occurs when charged particles from the sun collide with Earth’s atmosphere, creating the colors in the sky. These same solar particles can also trigger geomagnetic storms, which not only put on a great light show but can sometimes disrupt satellites, GPS, radio signals and even the power grid.
The glowing skies were visible in many states across the country, stretching as far south as Florida.
For Sharyn Goddard, who moved to Salisbury two years ago, last night’s display was her first experience seeing the aurora in such an active state. Part of what drew her to the area was the dark night skies and her home atop a steep hill, offering a clear view of the horizon.
“It’s magical. It was more color and it was moving, which was different from last year,” Goddard said. “You wait your whole life, you hear about it all the time, and then all of a sudden, you witness it, and it’s just thrilling.”
Jon Palmer, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Gray-Portland, Maine, said people with clear skies had a great view of the Northern Lights almost anywhere. He added that most sightings happened between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m., though it’s possible the lights were still visible as late as 4 a.m.
Another space weather disturbance is expected today, but the aurora might be harder to see tonight compared to Tuesday.
Perkins said she will definitely be keeping watch again on Wednesday night.
Since last May, she has been tracking where the lights can be seen using a phone app and following social media pages dedicated to northern lights sightings in New Hampshire. She has also learned to read scientific charts to predict the brightness of the aurora.
Trips to Alaska, Canada or Norway are currently out of reach for Perkins, but she hopes to continue witnessing the lights in New Hampshire.
“It’ll definitely be kind of a lifelong adventure to keep, looking and documenting,” Perkins said. “Once you kind of start, you want to continue. So I can only hope there’s more.”
