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You Can See the Northern Lights in SF During Daytime!

Updated: Dec 29, 2022 08:27
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The northern lights will be visible in the Bay Area sky today  SF Gate also says it’s maybe happening.

Ben Burress, an astronomer at Oakland’s Chabot Space and Science Center said ,”Typically, this colorful phenomenon can only be seen in the Arctic and Antarctic regions surrounding the planet’s magnetic poles.”

But today, right now, if you go outside and look northeast, close your left eye, and stand on one foot, you can see the majestic northern lights, in all their majesty.

Karl the Fog better not eff us over again. Like he does to us every July 4th.

Basically, big brain science stuff is happening: elements within the atmosphere converge together in a way only a scientist can explain “the lights occur when electrically charged particles called plasma, which is charged hydrogen and helium, stream outward from the sun to generate solar wind. That wind interacts with Earth’s magnetic field, which then acts as a shield to deflect those particles and protect us inside. But as some of the plasma gets trapped in the magnetic field, it has the potential to travel down through the poles and interact with the Earth’s atmosphere, producing light known as the auroras,” as noted in this SF Gate article.

There’s also a tremendous amount of wishful thinking arriving through the polar vortex wind patterns.

Within the article they further explain that this actually happened on Wednesday already in some West Coast Cities. So I feel more inclined to believe it could happen again, now, during the day.

SF Bucketlist says that officials are telling us to go to Twin Peaks but my fear of crowds tells me I’ll go to a more local spot that is just as high up.

Then again, this could all be the internet screwing with me ONCE again on April Fools Day and I wouldn’t be surprised…

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Katy Atchison

Katy Atchison

Katy has lived in The Bay Area since the age of 3. While other kids were attending summer camp & soccer practice, she was raised selling wares at craft shows with her working artist parents and spent vacations in a small 1920s Montana log cabin. This has all given her a unique perspective on the ever-changing texture of San Francisco and the Greater Bay Area. Currently a blend of all that is The Bay Area - she's a web designer at a tech-company, artist and DIY teacher.