Northern lights visible in Philadelphia suburbs overnight Tuesday

PHILADELPHIA – Northern lights dazzled skies in the Philadelphia suburbs overnight Tuesday with vibrant hues of pink and green made possible by several largesolar flares.

Local perspective:

Stargazers across the Philadelphia area were treated to a rare celestial sight on Tuesday night. 

Northern lights were reported from Bucks County to Cape May after the sun emitted several powerful solar flares over the last 24-hours.

Liam from Exton shared a photo of the Northern Lights illuminating the sky with pinks and greens. 

Northern Lights in Bucks County. Credit: Liam

Starla Black in the Lehigh Valley also captured a similar colorful nighttime sky. 

Northern Lights in the Lehigh Valley. Credit: Starla Black

Ditto for Ashton Miller in Bucks County, whose photo captured light pinks and reds.

Northern Lights in Bucks County. Credit: Ashton Miller.

What’s next:

With compounding coronal mass ejections making their way towards Earth, it is very possible for people living in the northern part of the United States to see some stellar auroras Nov. 12 and Nov. 13, according to the NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

Twenty-one states have the potential to see northern lights in the coming days, including: 

Northern lights could also be seen as far south as Alabama and northern California on Nov. 12, according to the NOAA, but this is dependent upon the orientation of Earth’s magnetic field. 

The best times to see northern lights in the US

Dig deeper:

The NOAA said the best times to potentially see northern lights from the U.S. are:

4 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET10 p.m. – 1 a.m. ET

A geomagnetic storm watch was issued by the NOAA on Tuesday, with predicted storm categories reaching strong and severe. 

Nov 12: G4 (severe) category stormNov. 13: G3 (strong) category stormNov. 14: G1 (minor) category storm

FILE – Northern lights (Aurora Borealis) illuminate the sky over Beach Lake in Alaska’s Chugiak region, United States on the night of Sept.28th to 29th, 2025. (Photo by Hasan Akbas /Anadolu via Getty Images)

What you can do:

Tips on seeing northern lights: 

Try to find an unobscured view and look toward the northern horizon.It must be dark outside, so if you can, go somewhere that has as little light pollution as possible.The best time to see auroras is within an hour or two of midnight, according to the NOAA. Check the weather forecast because clouds can cover up the spectacle entirely.Taking a picture with a smartphone camera may also reveal hints of the aurora that aren’t visible to the naked eye. Air & SpaceNewsBucks CountyChester CountyLehigh County