County residents get rare glimpse of northern lights
Aurora borealis, at this time of day, at this time of year, in this part of the country? Yes.
In the same year that a once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse passed over Western Pennsylvania, residents of Butler County and other parts of the region got a rare glimpse of the northern lights on Thursday night, Oct. 10.
The rare opportunity follows several other chances to spot the aurora borealis this year from Butler County, but residents reported Thursday’s show was especially visible.
The atmospheric phenomenon, usually confined to the farthest northern and southern regions of the earth, drifted over to the northeast United States on Thursday and Friday. According to Colton Milcareck of the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, this is only possible because the sun is in the “active period” of its 11-year solar activity cycle.
Similarly to tornadoes and hurricanes, the geomagnetic disturbances that cause the northern lights are measured on a scale from 1 to 5. The scale, devised by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, classifies G3 storms as “strong,” G4 as “severe” and G5 as “extreme.”
“These events are pretty rare,” Milcareck said. “We’re really looking for a G4 or G5 geomagnetic storm. That’s typically what gets us an aurora this far south, and even then it’s not a guarantee.”
A few opportunities to see the lights from Butler County this past summer were affected by cloudy skies.
Eric Krenitsky, who works at Krendale Golf Course in Butler, was one of the lucky people to get an unobstructed view of the northern lights on Thursday night.
“I just stepped outside about 10 p.m. That is when I noticed the northern lights,” Krenitsky said. “I observed them for about 20 minutes, after which they were not there. I didn't realize that they would be happening last night. It's the first time I have observed them.”
Steven Millard, of Evans City, also got a good look at the northern lights while he was in Connoquenessing on Thursday night.
“It was a great but cold night for it,” Millard said in an email to the Butler Eagle. “We saw a lot of pink and red foggy lights around 8 p.m., then the real show was from 10 to 10:30 p.m.”
