“Astoria Borealis” (a combination of “Astoria, Queens” and “aurora borealis,” the northern lights) describes any light show in the sky over Queens. “The ‘Astoria borealis’ (not-so-northern lights). @ Kaufman Astoria Studios http://instagram.com/p/YBnTRktvAU/” was posted on Twitter by Coesen on April 12, 2013. “Astoria Borealis” was posted on Twitter by Bill Reese on January 10, 2017.
 
“Astoria Borealis” was posted on Twitter by Darol on December 27, 2018, when the term went viral after transformer exploded at a Con Ed utility company substation in Astoria. “Astoria Borealis? New York Sky Turns Blue After Explosion at ConEd” was the title of a Wall Street Journal video from the same day.
 
     
Wikipedia: Astoria, Queens
Astoria is a middle-class and commercial neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Sunnyside (bordering at Northern Boulevard), and Woodside (bordering at 50th Street). It is located in Community Board 1, and is patrolled by the New York City Police Department’s 114th Precinct. As of 2016, Astoria has an estimated population of 78,793.
 
Wikipedia: Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), sometimes referred to as polar lights, northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in the Earth’s sky, predominantly seen in the high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic).
     
Twitter
Coesen
@coesenmusic
The “Astoria borealis” (not-so-northern lights). @ Kaufman Astoria Studios http://instagram.com/p/YBnTRktvAU/
8:50 PM - 12 Apr 2013
   
Twitter
Bill Reese
@ReeseCommaBill
Astoria Borealis
7:09 AM - 10 Jan 2017
     
Twitter
Darol
@darolh
Replying to @chrislhayes
Astoria Borealis.
9:28 PM - 27 Dec 2018
   
Twitter
Ryan W. Mead
@rwmead
Astoria Borealis
9:34 PM - 27 Dec 2018
   
Twitter
Benjamin Passikoff
@benpassikoff
I’ve never seen the Astoria Borealis before in my life. What a shock…. @ConEdison
9:34 PM - 27 Dec 2018
 
Twitter
Roben Farzad
@robenfarzad
Astoria Borealis = too funny! Who coined that?
11:16 PM - 27 Dec 2018
 
Wall Street Journal—Video
12/27/2018 11:57PM  
Astoria Borealis? New York Sky Turns Blue After Explosion at ConEd
A flash of blue light illuminated New York City’s skyline Thursday night after a transformer exploded at a utility company’s substation Astoria, Queens. Photo: Bloomberg
     
Long Island Business News
Astoria borealis: Power plant explosion lights up night sky
By: The Associated Press December 28, 2018
Astoria had its own version of the northern lights on Thursday night, but the bright blue glow that lit up the night sky was no aurora borealis.
 
A transformer explosion at an electrical plant set the skies above New York City ablaze in an eerie, pulsing blue light, causing scattered power outages, delaying flights and sparking a social media storm of jokes about an alien invasion.
 
The blast prompted a brief fire at a sprawling Con Edison facility in Queens — but no injuries — and a spectacular illumination of the New York skyline that generated a flurry of online commentary.
 
YouTube
Astoria Borealis: Electrical Blast Wows New Yorkers
CBS New York
Published on Dec 28, 2018
An electrical emergency at a Con Edison substation in Queens lit the night sky across much of New York City and spawned a flurry of social media reaction. CBS2’s Natalie Duddridge reports.
 
Twitter
Paulina Kuo
@paulina_kuo
An eerie blue glow at the holidays in NYC. Not aliens, but a blown transformer and sustined arcing in Astoria Queens. Nicknamed “Astoria Borealis,” it did shut down LaGuardia airport temporarily.
10:07 AM - 28 Dec 2018