Fireball, Northern Lights appear across the Miami Valley sky

MIAMI VALLEY — The night sky across the Miami Valley is lighting up more than usual.

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As reported on News Center 7 at 5:30, a fireball and Northern Lights have recently appeared.

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News Center 7 spoke with neighbors around East Dayton who saw the night sky activity.

Several people said they saw the fireball, some even captured video of it.

According to NASA, a fireball is another term for a very bright meteor.

Around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, Northern Lights were visible for some across the region.

“The Northern Lights can be seen across Ohio or other places in the Midwest when we have increased solar activity,” Storm Center 7 Weather Specialist Nick Dunn said.

News Center 7 received photos from Huber Heights, Troy, Piqua and more.

Dunn said this natural phenomenon happened due to the solar cycle.

“And right now it’s in a solar maximum, where we have those increased numbers of sunspots and thus we’re more susceptible to a greater amount of flares, and thus the greater amount of geomagnetic activity. That gives us a chance to see the northern lights like we saw last night,” Dunn said.

The solar cycle hits its peak every 11 years, so there is a chance to see the Northern Lights within the next year.

News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.

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Fort Loramie (iWitness7)

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