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Lots of celestial events in the US 2024/5! Eclipse, then aurora reaching down to southern New England, now this.

Are there more celestial events than usual, or did celestial events start trending after the two eclipses?

The week after the most recent US eclipse the media started reporting on every single celestial event, no matter how small. The eclipse got so much traction that it seems like they were trying to drag it out as long as possible.

Any given one of these events might be especially rare, but that's the birthday paradox in action: if you're looking for it you can find any number of rare celestial events in a year!

The Aurora by itself is usually a once in a lifetime thing. That being said, the sun is projected to do this kind of thing more often long term. So this may be the start of a new trend. Though the solar cycle is around 11 years long, so this is the last year for quite a while that it's statistically more probable.

Right. My question is more whether if it weren't the aurora, would it have been something else?

It's been quite a show! Some nice CMEs, flares, comets and now a big alignment. I feel really blessed to be under clear skies to see these ancient celestial bodies dance across the night sky.

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