We Could See The Northern Lights TONIGHT In New York- Not A Drill

Due to a recent solar flare this week, New York State could see the Northern Lights aka the Aurora TONIGHT. This is not a drill

According to Space Weather Live, an X class solar flare launched off the sun 2 days ago (Wednesday May 29th):

"The solar flare was eruptive but the region is still very close to the limb so the eruption was not earth-directed as you can see on this animation from the SOHO/LASCO C2 coronagraph. Sunspot region 3697 will rotate into a more earth-facing position in the days ahead so we might be in for yet another exciting space weather period."

To sum that up, the CME from that flare is supposed to hit Earth tonight. It will peak between 11PM May 31st - 6AM June 1st. You can follow Space Weather Live for more up to date predictions.

Another Chance to See the Northern Lights in New York

Most of Central New York was deprived of the chance to see the dazzling Northern lights earlier this month because of heavy cloud coverage. WIBX reports there is another chance to see them sooner than you think.

Live Science has been tracking the "monster sunspot," dubbed active region 3664, that created that auroral blast a few weeks ago. This sunspot is 15-times wider than our planet and is capable of emitting supercharged particles:

"Although the sunspot has been turned away from our planet, it hasn't stopped producing significant, record breaking solar flares. On May 20th, it produced an X12-rated flare, which is apparently its biggest yet."

The window of opportunity to catch the next wave of auroral activity will be the first full week of June, which is perfect since the next new moon falls on June 6th. Read the full report from WIBX here.