![]() As that increased solar activity arrives at Earth, it can trigger more brilliant and widespread auroral activity.Īs ever, the northern lights are fickle. SWPC forecasters say it is monitoring "a series of Coronal Mass Ejections (CME)" that began on August 14. ![]() That's much further south than you typically see the northern lights. Those are strong enough to potentially bring the aurora to the skies over the continental United States on both notes. The forecast projects a G3 storm, considered strong on the SWPC's scales, for August 18 and a not insignificant G2 storm for August 19. It has issued a geomagnetic storm watch through the latter date. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) predicts "a strong geomagnetic storm" to arrive at Earth on August 18 and 19. So, this week's situation is a bit unique. Those dark skies are necessary to see the bucket list phenomenon. For your best chance, find an area, like the top of a hill, where you can have unobstructed sky views to the north.The northern lights aren't something you typically hunt in the summer when there is less darkness at night. It’s worth noting that it’s only possible to see the Northern Lights when the sky is clear, and they’re not competing with ambient city lights. It can help spell out when the show might take place, if at all. It’s a good idea to download a mobile app, like Northern Light Aurora Forecast, to get a better idea of the likelihood of seeing the Northern Lights in your area. They’re only going to get better and more frequent in the coming years, although they are also more active around the fall and spring equinoxes. In the years closest to solar maximum (slated to happen in 2024), the shows are more frequent, energetic, and colorful (whereas they’re more lethargic in the years near solar minimum). There’s an 11-year cycle that has historically predicted when the lights would be most visible. It’s the same process at work in neon signs.Įven if you don’t get to see the kaleidoscopic illuminations this time, your chances will only improve over the next few years. When the particles mix with oxygen, green and red lights appear they glow blue and purple when they join with nitrogen. As those elements meet the Earth’s magnetic field, they’re attracted to the poles, where they excite and mix with the gases in our atmosphere. The aurora borealis is caused when the sun shoots electrically charged protons and electrons toward the Earth during a solar storm. What causes the Northern Lights-and when might we see them again? However, it’s more probable that if the dancing display happens in the continental U.S., it’ll be seen in the northern parts of Washington, Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Maine. ![]() That means the Northern Lights could be visible as far south as Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and all of the Northeastern states. It also means that there’s a larger swath of the hemisphere that could potentially see the aurora.įor the night of May 10, that number is six. The higher the number is, the better the probability the nighttime spectacle will occur. Scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute rank the probability of seeing the aurora borealis on a scale of zero to nine, which is called the Kp Index. This spring, the Northern Lights, a phenomenon that sees ethereal streamers of colored light pirouette across the night sky, made a rare appearance in the Lower 48, coloring the skies in places as far south as New Mexico.įor those who missed it, fear not, as you may have another chance to see the illusive aurora borealis in the Lower 48 tonight.
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