Astronomy Observatory

College Park is generally a bit too far south to see the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights on a regular basis. Occasionally, we get lucky when there is a strong solar storm. Below are some indicators from other sites that we have found useful for determining if aurorae will be visible at this latitude. The best site to visit to keep updated on solar activity is spaceweather.com. For really neat pics of the sun, try:

• the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO),
• the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO,
• or the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) webpages.

For more details, please visit the Real Time Dst Estimate page.


For more information about the auroral oval, please visit the 30-MINUTE AURORA FORECAST page.

Aurora Sightings in College Park, MD

• 07 Nov 2004
• 30 Oct 2003
• 29 Oct 2003