Northern Lights May Be Visible Over NJ: Here's When To Look Up

NEW JERSEY — It appears that New Jersey residents may want to look up to the sky tonight in the hopes of catching something truly rare and special.

Forecasters say there is a chance of seeing the northern lights in New Jersey on Sunday night into Monday morning. There are no guarantees of such things, but the elements are potentially in place for New Jersey residents to see the northern lights.

"Seeing the northern lights just once in New Jersey would be crazy enough but I’ve seen them TWICE last year! In May and October," meteorologist Collin Gross posted Saturday on X. "Will tomorrow night be the 3rd time?"

image via the National Weather Service

The National Weather Space Prediction Center said, "The brightness and location of the aurora is typically shown as a green oval centered on Earth’s magnetic pole. The green ovals turn red when the aurora is forecast to be more intense. Aurora can often be observed somewhere on Earth from just after sunset or just before sunrise. The aurora is not visible during daylight hours. The aurora does not need to be directly overhead but can be observed from as much as 1000 km away when the aurora is bright and if conditions are right."

To get the best shot at seeing the northern lights, find a place with clear skies outside city limits and look to the north between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., according to the Times.

Skies are forecast to be mostly clear overnight in Trenton although it will be partly cloudy in both Newark and Atlantic City, according to the National Weather Service.