From New York to Idaho, a number of northern states may see the northern lights on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Space Weather Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported on Tuesday that a coronal mass ejection—a solar eruption that sends solar material plumes toward Earth—was seen on Sunday.
Massive plasma clouds and charged particles can be released into space by these kinds of solar storms. Bright, multicolored auroras can be seen in the night sky as a result of the energetic particles’ interactions with atoms and molecules in the planet’s upper atmosphere when they collide with Earth’s magnetic field.
The northern lights may be visible in Canada and in various northern US states, such as Idaho, Montana, Minnesota, Michigan, New York, and Maine, late on Tuesday and into the early hours of Wednesday. This is because the plumes of solar material are predicted to arrive on Earth early on Wednesday.
Wednesday night, auroras might also be observable, according per the Space Weather Prediction Center.
An aurora dashboard is kept up to date by NOAA and offers maps showing the expected locations of the northern lights as well as short-term forecasts.
Solar eruptions have the potential to cause geomagnetic storms, which can disrupt satellite communications in orbit. When solar radiation and plasma clouds strike Earth, they can also interfere with transmission lines and power grids, and in severe situations, even result in blackouts.
The aurora borealis, also referred to as the northern lights, is normally visible at high latitudes, but powerful solar storms have the ability to amplify the light displays and make them visible farther south than usual.
During a time of high solar activity, skywatchers have recently been treated to numerous breathtaking displays of the northern lights.
The solar storm on Sunday was significantly less powerful than the sequence of explosions in May that caused powerful geomagnetic storms on Earth and heightened the northern lights for viewers in many parts of the world, including Alabama in the United States.
From minimum to maximum activity, the sun cycles every 11 years, and the present cycle is predicted by NOAA to peak in July 2025.
Depending on the present makeup and density of the planet’s atmosphere, auroras can seem as shimmering curtains of green light, but they can also have pink, purple, blue, or red hues.