Aurora Borealis lights up Connecticut sky

(WFSB) - The Aurora Borealis was visible in Connecticut Sunday night.

Channel 3 viewers captured photographs of the shots, some from Barkhamsted and Bristol.

Over the next few years, the northern lights might appear further south more regularly, Robert Massey, executive director at the Royal Astronomical Society, told CNN.

Massey said the sun goes through an 11-year solar cycle where the flare activity level fluctuates. Cycle 25, the latest one, began in Dec. 2019 with a solar minimum — a period when the sun is still active, but it’s quieter and has fewer sunspots.

The planet is approaching a solar maximum, expected to occur in July 2025, which will be a time when there are a large number of sunspots and increased solar activity.

Massey said the solar events that cause auroras will become more common as we head toward the solar maximum.

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