Amazing East Texas Aurora Borealis, Another Round Coming Tonight?

Thursday evening, anyone in the Deep East Texas area may have thought a major prank was happening on social media. At least, that's what I first thought.

I saw a picture posted on Facebook showing a beautiful reddish sky over the Hudson area. The author claimed it was the northern lights.

I knew that throughout 2024, Planet Earth had been bombarded with coronal mass ejections (CME) from the sun. When these CMEs are powerful enough they can cause communication issues and the appearance of an aurora borealis farther south than normal.

Even so, farther south usually means the northern United States, not East Texas. But, more and more pictures were posted last night, like these in Alto...

...and I finally realized, the almost impossible was happening...or happened. By the time I went outside, I only saw stars, the moon, and a possum scurrying away.

Another Chance Friday Night?

According to the Space Weather Prediction Center (yes, I just learned there is such a thing), this Level-4 coronal mass ejection may cause another round of northern light displays into Texas.

Thursday's prediction was for cities as far south as Dallas to see the rare occurrence, but I guess predicting space weather is just as tough as predicting weather closer to the surface.

Some sources are saying that the aurora borealis could be on display for tonight both Friday and Saturday nights.

Best Way to Photograph the Northern Lights

Some posts that I saw on Facebook Thursday night indicated that you see the lights better through photos. Here are some tips on how to best take pictures of the northern lights.

So, Friday night, get away from the city lights and keep your eyes on the northern sky for what could be another rare astronomical treat for Texas.