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It’s Friday and we have big news about the dock workers’ strike, the electric bill and everyone’s favorite local famous beaver.

But first…

Look up! If you missed the Northern Lights last May, you may have another chance soon. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the solar show, which is caused by the interaction between solar flares and Earth’s magnetic field, could be visible in Massachusetts this weekend — perhaps even tonight, if clouds cooperate. (Thursday’s flare that produced the coming aurora — an X9.0 flare — was even stronger than May’s will be visible as far south as the Boston area. Even if they aren’t pushed all the way to such low latitudes, those with a clear view north might be able to see them. “Look toward New Hampshire (or) Canada,” Cohen told WBUR’s Amy Sokolow.

• Another pro tip: Cohen suggests getting away from the city lights and looking north from about 9 p.m. He also suggests taking a photo with your phone’s camera if you can’t see it with the naked eye. “The phone camera is more sensitive to the specific wavelength in which the aurora is active,” he said.
• Why did this happen so often? Cohen says we’re currently near the peak of “solar maximum,” which is as cool as it sounds. It is a period in an eleven-year cycle when the sun is most active. And NOAA predicts that the chances of seeing the Northern Lights this fall and next year are especially good, as solar cycle 25 is expected to peak from November through March 2026.
• You’ve heard of storm trackers. But did you know that there is also an aurora tracker? Here you can track NOAA’s visibility forecasts for today and tomorrow.

Spooky Season: Salem is preparing for a wave of visitors as the first weekend of October approaches. Like last year, officials are advising people to plan ahead and consider public transportation. “If you don’t have a plan for how you’re going to get here, you’re going to have trouble finding parking,” Salem Mayor Dominic Pangallo told WBUR’s Sydney Ko. “An average of 65,000 to 100,000 people visit Salem on a weekend day, and we only have 4,000 parking spaces. So you can do the math.

A noble choice: Governor Maura Healey will swear in the new head of the Massachusetts State Police later this morning. Geoffrey Noble will take over the position – which has been vacant for 18 months – after 27 years with the New Jersey State Police. (He retired in 2022 and has been working for a private security company ever since.)

• Noble ends up at an agency that deals with several internal issues — including, most recently, an investigation into the death last month of a state police recruit after a training exercise.

The T gives: Following Tuesday’s derailment, normal service on the Green Line Extension (finally) resumed yesterday morning. Federal investigators say they should have a preliminary report on the exact cause of the crash within 30 days.

Back to it: The Celtics – and “Hot Ones” survivor Jaylen Brown – begin preseason overseas in Abu Dhabi today at noon. They will play the Denver Nuggets twice in the UAE before returning to the TD Garden next weekend.

PS – What stopped Healey from calling the National Guard? Take our Boston News Quiz and test your knowledge of this week’s stories.