It's been a banner year for seeing the northern lights, but if you missed any of Boston's aurora sightings earlier in 2024, you might — might — have one more shot before the calendar turns to 2025.
Two strong coronal mass ejections launched from the sun Monday morning, triggering shortwave radio blackouts in Australia. While that seems a bit alarming, it's nothing we haven't seen before in this active solar cycle.
These CMEs, as they're called, are delivering a glancing shot at Earth, so that should temper expectations for a dazzling display of the aurora borealis in the next day or two.
In fact, based on the speed and intensity of the energy pulse, it appears that the best places to see the northern lights will be across northern New England, predominately toward dawn Tuesday morning.
More on the northern lights
There is still a chance that we could have some secondary bursts behind the primary wave of energy, which would keep us on aurora watch into New Year's Eve. It's also worth noting that we won't know the precise intensity of the CME until it's within the range of Earth's solar wind detectors.
Right now, the forecast is favorable for viewing tonight, with just a few scattered clouds and temperatures falling into the upper 30s to low 40s. You can use our interactive weather radar below to estimate cloud cover over the coming hours by tapping the layers button and selecting "Satellite."
And if you'd like to keep up to date on the latest conditions and predictions for the northern lights, check in with the Space Weather Prediction Center, or follow them on social media.
The northern lights were seen on at least two nights in Boston this year, in May and again, even brighter, in October.
See photos from both nights below — the colors varied from emerald green to a deep purple the first night, with a brilliant pink predominant when the aurora returned.
