Northern lights in Pennsylvania tonight

Designated an International Dark Sky Park in 2018, Cherry Springs sits at 680 m on a high plateau in Potter County with Bortle 1 conditions on the main observation field. The state forest surrounds the park for 30 km in all directions. The north-facing side of the observation field gives an open northern horizon. Cherry Springs is the best dark sky park in the eastern USA for aurora. It sits at 41.7°N geographic latitude, a little north of the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia line, so the threshold is around Kp 6 even from this exceptional sky.

The state forest surrounding Cherry Springs gives Bortle 2 sky over a large area. Forest roads give additional dark sky positions beyond the park boundary. The Pine Creek Gorge - known as the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon - near Wellsboro gives north-facing gorge-rim positions with dark sky and dramatic foreground for photography.

In the Appalachian ridge country southeast of Pittsburgh, the Laurel Highlands give Bortle 3 sky with north-facing ridge positions. Ohiopyle State Park and the ridges along the Youghiogheny River give accessible dark sky within an hour of Pittsburgh. The southern Fayette County ridges at 500-600 m face north across the river valleys.

The Delaware River valley between Pennsylvania and New Jersey gives Bortle 3 conditions in the gap between the two metro areas. The ridge tops on the Pennsylvania side face north. Accessible from the I-80 corridor. About 65 miles from Philadelphia and 130 miles from New York City, this is the closest practical dark sky escape for eastern Pennsylvania residents.