Northern Lights May Be Visible In GTA Tuesday, Wednesday Nights
Posted August 3, 2010 8:42 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
People across the GTA could experience a wonder usually only visible in the Arctic region.
Solar storms this past weekend sent charged particles toward the Earth that are expected to hit the planet’s magnetic field Tuesday and/or Wednesday and will create a brighter-than-normal Aurora Borealis.
Urbanites hoping to get a rare glimpse of the Northern Lights are advised to get as far away from city lights as possible. The spectacular display should be visible Tuesday night to the north at about 8:30pm to 9pm. The estimated arrival times for Wednesday night to Thursday morning are 8pm and 2am.
No equipment is needed to see the Northern Lights. Simply, look to the north. An aurora looks like a ghostly sheen of light, colored green or red, that slowly shimmers and undulates over time. An aurora can disappear within minutes or last for hours.
Volunteers with the David Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill are opening the facility especially for the event.
Aurora updates from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
More on the Aurora Borealis (.pdf), courtesy of the Canadian Space Agency
If you manage to snap some photos of the Northern Lights, send them to torontoweb@citynews.ca
