PHILADELPHIA – Several times in 2024, the Northern Lights were visible in the region, which is an unusual and rare occurrence for the area. Another opportunity to view the beautiful spectacle is presenting itself Sunday night, scientists say.

What we know:

Remember when everyone was seeing the Northern Lights across southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and South Jersey one night last October?

We got to see the Northern Lights so much farther south than usual because of what forecasters called a “G4 (Severe) Geomagnetic Storm.”

That strong of a solar storm is pretty rare, and forecasters are calling for another Sunday night.

The backstory:

The sun constantly sends charged energy into space. While Earth’s magnetic field blocks out most of it, some of it sneaks in around the North and South Pole, leading to the northern and southern lights in those places.

Occasionally, a much bigger blast of charged energy leaves the sun, and that’s exactly what happened on Friday. You can see an example of that on X, here.

“Confidence in an Earth-arrival component to this [energy] is good” says the branch of the National Weather Service that focuses on space weather. “However, timing and intensity are more uncertain,” they note.

Timeline:

Right now, they anticipate 9 to 11 p.m. as the best time for you to see the Northern Lights with your own eyes Sunday night in the Philadelphia area.

If you head outside, but don’t see anything, try taking a picture with your cell phone on the night sight setting where it takes five to 10 seconds to capture a picture. Phones can capture the Northern Lights when our eyes cannot. However, Sunday night’s anticipated Northern Lights should be strong enough to see when you look up.

What you can do:

If you see them, share your picture with Kathy Orr and FOX29.  You might see one on air during our weather forecasts.

100 Years Ago, 1925: The dedication of the new Plush Mill bridge, originally planned for last Armistice Day and which was postponed and scheduled to take place Saturday has been postponed a second time. Last year’s drawback was caused by the delay experienced in preparing the bronze tablets and the second postponement is due to the same cause. Those in charge hope to hold the dedicatory exercises on the coming Armistice Day.

75 Years Ago, 1950: Hundreds of veterans of the Chester Veterans Council, families of the city’s war dead, and spectators, heard Judge Henry G. Sweney, a veteran of World War I, pay the community’s respects to the dead heroes of the nation at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at Chester Rural Cemetery Tuesday afternoon. Warmed by a tardy sun, which broke through lowering clouds just as the several-mile-long parade stepped off at Third Street and Highland Avenue at 1.30 p.m., the members paused in reverent commemoration at the monument surrounded by scores of flag-decorated graves.

50 Years Ago, 1975: A work stoppage continues today at Westinghouse Electric Corporation’s Power Generation division, Lester, after 4,000 hourly employees walked off their jobs or refused to report for work Friday. “The whole plant is down,” said a corporate spokesman Friday night. He said the action taken by the members of Local 107, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, is in connection with a three-day disciplinary furlough given to a worker in the heavy machining shop. The Westinghouse spokesman said the worker was given the furlough “for repeatedly violating work rules.”

25 Years Ago, 2000: As the observances of Memorial Day fade into memory, a major supplier of military personnel — the Selective Service System — approaches its 60th birthday. In its initial report card of state-by-state compliance with registration, Pennsylvania had 82 percent of its eligible men registered by the time they turned 20 years old, 1 percentage point below the national average. In Delaware County, 20,886 young men aged 18-25 registered through March 31 out of a total of 504,318 statewide, according to Selective Service spokesperson Lewis Brodsky in Washington,. No breakdown for the percentage of men registered in the county was available, he said.

10 Years Ago, 2015: It was a celebration 125 years in the making in Sharon Hill. A full slate of events was held this weekend to celebrate its landmark anniversary, pulling out all the stops with a parade, a formal banquet and a fireworks show. “It’s a tremendous experience for me,” said Mayor Harry Dunfee, a 55-year resident of the borough.

— COLIN AINSWORTH

OCEAN VIEW, DEL. – The Delaware Center for the Inland Bays hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony. It was too celebrate the completion of a new outreach facility. The project started in 2019, but stalled because of unforeseen circumstances. The Executive Director of the group, Christophe Tulou, is excited about the next step. “This was a 6 year project, and we’ve been working hard throughout the process interrupted by the pandemic; what this represents is a huge community resource.”

The James Farm Ecological Preserve Education Campus serves as a hub for environmental education, community engagement, and research. The 150-acre campus has been managed by the Delaware Center for Inland Bays since 1998. Annually, thousands of classroom students and visitors take tours of the campus. Tulou said the upgraded campus will bring modern amenities.

“We are so delighted to be to this point today, because now we have a place where we can vastly enhance our educational opportunities for students of all ages at the James Farm.”

However, while the project took 6 years to get done, legislators are happy to get it over the line. State Senator of the 20th District, Gerald Hocker, played a pivotal role in getting the project finished. He appreciates the work people have put into the facilities.

“They put their heart and soul in it. The staff, and volunteers, are so remarkable, that has made this place a reality that it is today.”

Senator Hocker said education should be kept on the forefront.

“There is so much history taught here, not only about our bays, but so much about how Sussex County became about, and the importance of Sussex County to the state.”

The features on the campus include an environmental education building, amphitheater seating, integrated signage, red trail realignment, and more.

The address is 30048 Cedar Neck Road in Ocean View. Hours are from dawn to dusk.