No celestial show: Northern Lights, Perseid meteor showers not visible due to full moon over Long Island's night sky

If you have hope of seeing the aurora borealis, the famed Northern Lights, on Long Island on Friday night, guess again.

As Joseph Rao, guest lecturer at the Rose Center for Earth and Science at The Hayden Planetarium in Manhattan, said: "Sorry, but you ain't seeing nothing tonight."

The reason, Rao said, will be the brightest of Friday night lights over Long Island: the full moon.

And Rao and other astronomers contacted by Newsday said though the moon would be on the wane next week, it would impact the ability to see the annual Perseid meteor showers, scheduled to be at their peak in our night skies on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

The Perseids, caused as Earth travels through debris castoff in the trail of the comet Swift-Tuttle as it orbits the sun, generally fills the skies with as many as 75 "shooting stars" an hour during its annual otherworldly show.

But, Hofstra University professor of physics and astronomy Stephen S. Lawrence said this year, with the waning moon still bright in the night sky, any potential show would be more like "one every 15 minutes." And, that's if you're fortunate, he said.

So, this year seeing the Perseids might just be a wash. Just like hopes of seeing the Northern Lights.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center had hinted Friday night conditions might make it possible to see the aurora borealis in a "viewband" that stretches 18 northern states, among them New York.

But Rao said any potential viewing was predicated on the intensity of the geomagnetic storms that cause the Northern Lights — and those ratings need to be at least G3 or G4, while on Friday they'll be G1 or G2. Also, NOAA uses a formula to determine what is called the "Planetary K Index," which measures the intensity of solar disturbance on the Earth's atmosphere. These need to be a minimum of 7 on the scale, which goes from 0 to 9 — and, to really have an impact that can be seen in Long Island skies, it likely needs to be at 8 or greater.

Predictions for Friday? The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center said the index would be more like 3 or 4, which means any potential for seeing the Northern Lights in North America will likely be north of the Canadian border.

And, Rao said, "There is one thing in the sky tonight you're going to see — and, that's a giant spotlight. The one thing you don't want in the sky is a full moon ... and, that's exactly what we're going to have."

While the waning moon will likely affect being able to see the Perseids next week, Lawrence said there was one sight Long Islanders might be able to watch — though you'll need to get up early to do so.

Jupiter and Venus figure to be less than 1 degree apart in the early morning eastern sky overnight Monday into predawn Tuesday

"They'll be the brightest stars in the morning sky," Lawrence said. "The two will be really bright."

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”