Getting your best view of the rarely-seen “northern lights”
The last time the northern lights were visible farther south in the continental United States – as well as other nations – was a full two decades ago.
The lights, formerly known as aurora borealis, are being made visible as a result of a solar storm – an extrusion of charged particles and parts of its magnetic field to Earth, often through eruptions from its surface called coronal mass ejections.
In short, if you don’t try to get a look at the lights this weekend, you might have to wait a very long time time for the moment to come again.
Where are the best places in the KZRG listening area to see the northern lights?
Here are a few suggestions:
The Mound
“The Mound” is a hill on Highway 96 west of Carl Junction. The area, once the sight of a popular liquor store and gas station, has nothing on it now. It does, however, have a tall elevation that looks out over the flatter lands just across the border in southeast Kansas.
Downtown Joplin
If you somehow have access to Joplin’s taller buildings, they would be great vantage points. Those would include but aren’t limited to Joplin’s City Hall and Messenger Towers. However, there are several other places that might offer a good view including Mercy Joplin Hospital, if you work there, or one or two older apartment buildings.
Downstream Casino
The upper floors of the hotel near Downstream Casino towers over the adjoining landscape. Try to snag a view of the northern sky.
South Side of the Joplin Airport
The southern end of the Joplin Airport, just off Highway 171 where the Webb City and Joplin city limits meet, offers a long, clear view to the north. However, those runway lights which might get in the way of the show in the sky.
Besse Apartments
The Besse Apartments, once known as the Besse Hotel, is the tallest building in Pittsburg, Kansas. You would have to have approval to be inside but if you have that approval, it would provide the best vista in the Pittsburg area. But outside Pittsburg, as the land flattens out, numerous vantage point might be available from back yards and country roads.
Hammons Tower
Hammons Tower in Springfield, MO boasts spectacular panoramic views of Springfield, Missouri. The 21st and 22nd floors might be best for viewing the northern lights, IF you have access
Experts say wherever you go sky watching, you should your cellphone along. It might help you get the best view of all.
“Cellphones are much better than our eyes at capturing light,” Brent Gordon, chief of NOAA’s Space Weather Services Branch, said in a Friday news conference.
“Just go out your back door and take a picture with a newer cellphone, and you’d be amazed at what you see in that picture versus what you see with your eyes.” he added.