Mars residents captures spectacular sights as Northern lights reach Butler County
The aurora borealis, commonly known as the northern lights, often appears in regions like Alaska, northern Canada and the Arctic Circle. But on the night of Tuesday, Jan. 20, they lit up the skies above Lake Arthur at Moraine State Park.
The aurora was captured by Dustin McGrew, a Mars resident and photographer.
“I’ve shot them at Moraine. The last time was back in October 2024. They were crazy on that night. They were even brighter and even more visible to the naked eye, the bands moving through the sky,” McGrew said. “This time they were a little more subdued, but they were still so interesting to see here.”
The northern lights display dynamic patterns of rays and spirals through the sky when they appear. They are created when particles from the sun are emitted during solar flares and collide with Earth’s magnetic field.
“It actually starts with solar wind. Whenever there’s a solar storm, particles emitted from the sun impact earth’s magnetic field. When it makes impact with the atmosphere, it can produce these vibrant colors. That’s what you’re seeing,” said Colton Milcarek, a meteorologist with National Weather Service’s Pittsburgh station.
Though it is rare for the northern lights to reach as far south as Butler County, Milcarek said we are currently in an active solar cycle, making sights of the aurora more common.
“We really don’t have a longstanding record, but we are in an active solar cycle with heightened solar activity,” Milcarek said. “It’s pretty atypical when the solar cycle is inactive. We’re in an active phase.”
Due to the infrequency of various weather events, like seeing the northern lights, McGrew said he has to pay close attention to weather updates. This includes various social media, such as a Reddit group called “SolarMax” that posts about solar flairs. He knew after seeing a recent post there’d be a chance in the following days of an aurora sighting.
“So much of my photography deals with weather. Shooting the conditions can be something interesting, but the northern lights are wild to see,” McGrew said.
