Fordham students were able to view the aurora borealis from their homes in the Bronx neighborhood on Oct. 10. The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, was visible throughout the tristate area on Thursday — a surprise to residents as the lights are traditionally seen from the North and South Poles.
Isabella Lipayon, FCRH ’26, had planned to view the lights when she heard about them on the news the day before.
“My roommates and I were keeping an eye out. We saw a little bit from our balcony and then we decided to go out into clear space so there weren’t any trees,” she said.
The northern lights are caused by solar storms that occur on the sun’s surface. These storms send electrically charged particles millions of miles away, where they collide with molecules in Earth’s atmosphere to create the multicolor display of the aurora borealis. Because many of these particles are often captured in Earth’s magnetic field, the borealis is most commonly viewed at the North and South poles.
The northern lights are more visible through phone cameras because cameras can take in more light than the human eye.
“At first, you couldn’t really tell the sky was slightly more pink than usual, but funnily enough, you could see it better through your phone,” Lipayon noted.
She also noticed that many residents in the park where she viewed the lights were unaware of the lights above them.
“A lot of people didn’t seem to know what was going on because [the lights] weren’t super visible to the naked eye,” Lipayon said. “But those of us who were looking out for it were looking up together.”
Lipayon and her group spent the evening following the forecasts for the lights’ visibility.
“We stayed for about 10 minutes and then came back out, about a half an hour later, when they were supposed to be more visible,” she said. “I was really fascinated — I didn’t think they’d be moving as much as they were.”
Reflecting on the experience, Lipayon noted she was very surprised but pleased to have seen the northern lights from her Bronx apartment.
“It was a really fascinating experience to witness this in the United States, in New York, from my backyard — where I never thought that I would get to see the northern lights,” she said. “I had a great time, and I’m glad I decided to take a walk that day.”
