MARBLEHEAD — The town is, of course, well known for its breathtaking coastal views of the Atlantic Ocean. Specifically at its historic landmarks such as Fort Sewall and the Marblehead Light Tower.
However, those sites also made for some fantastic sights in the sky early Saturday morning as dozens flocked to the shore to catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis, otherwise known as the Northern Lights.
On Friday, May 10, the National Weather Service issued a Geomagnetic Storm Warning, the weather event that creates the Aurora Borealis. The geomagnetic storms are a result of what are known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the sun.
The National Weather Service describes the CMEs as “explosions of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun’s corona,” and when directed at Earth, cause the geomagnetic storms. With the severity of the storm, displays of Aurora could be seen persisting throughout the weekend, and could have been seen as far south as Alabama.
The Boston area was considered to be one of the top regions to view the display of lights.
A gradient of green, blue, purple, and red stretched across the sky as the light tower and the American Flag waving atop Fort Sewall created an aesthetic backdrop to the event. Many in the community took to social media to share what they had seen. Some were only able to catch a slight haze of pink before packing it in for the night, while other night owls made sure to stay up, waiting for the right time to capture the full array of colors.
