Northern lights Massachusetts: When and where to see them

Of course we're nearing Halloween, which is 27 days away, but you don't have to wait too long to see a spooky sight in the sky.

The aurora borealis, or northern lights, may be visible as we near the weekend with a much stronger geomagnetic storm than initially thought. In that Kp index that measures the intensity of the reflectivity of the flares that we may see, it's moderate Friday night, so you may actually be able to make it out.

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Friday night we're concerned about cloud coverage with a Kp index of a six or seven, but then we get somewhere between a seven and an eight, and that will most likely be peaking Saturday night and early Sunday morning, and then Sunday evening another chance, with a moderate to moderately strong magnetic storm.

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Now the cloud coverage forecast is one thing that may or may not work in our favor, depending on where you are across northern New England on Friday night.

The Northern lights, also called an aurora borealis, are moving waves of lights seen in the night sky.

I'm going to say no dice. There's plenty of clouds covering the entire region Friday night as another weather system nears early Saturday morning.

So just remember, if you're trying to view the Northern Lights, you need to go far away from the city lights, as the light pollution cuts down on your eyes' ability to see it. Cameras are really good too, but another pro tip is to use a tripod. You want something that's a bit more steady so you can have an open shutter, giving you a better chance of seeing some of those photos turn out.

If you do get any photos of the Northern Lights, by the way, we'd love to share them. Just email them to us at shareit@nbcuni.com.