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    • A “severe” solar storm could trigger northern lights in the US
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    A “severe” solar storm could trigger northern lights in the US

    Madoc Meredith Posted on

    Across the United States on Thursday, many Americans will have the opportunity to watch aurora dancing across the night sky amid a looming solar storm.

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    Another massive solar flare is racing through the cosmos toward Earth, with the potential to create striking auroras in the night sky around the planet.

    In the United States, many Americans should have a chance to witness the dazzling display of green and red hues, also known as the aurora borealis, on Thursday evening thanks to the “severe” geomagnetic storm forecast by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A coronal mass ejection of plasma clouds and charged particles powering the storm prompted NOAA’s Space Prediction Center to issue a rare G4-class geomagnetic storm watch for the second time this year.

    Despite the threat the solar storm poses to satellites, GPS signals and power grids, the storm watch is good news for aurora hunters: Because of the way the sun’s particles interact with Earth’s magnetosphere, the powerful burst should keep the glowing aurora borealis in check many make visible a wider part of the Northern Hemisphere than usual.

    Here’s what you should know about the Northern Lights and how you might be able to see them on Thursday evening in the United States.

    Peak of Northern Lights activity: What you should know about northern lights when the sun reaches its solar maximum

    NOAA releases rare G4 solar storm watch that tracks coronal mass ejection

    Since Tuesday, NOAA has been tracking a coronal mass ejection that exploded from the sun on a trajectory that was expected to reach Earth at noon Thursday.

    Meteorologists use a five-level scale to measure geometric storms that form when coronal mass ejections release solar particles and electromagnetic radiation toward our planet. At G4, this is just one step away from becoming the most severe solar storm ever, according to NOAA.

    G4-level storm warnings don’t come around very often: the last one issued by NOAA in May was the first since 2005.

    May’s geomagnetic storm was a record-breaking force, strong enough to cause irregularities in the power grid and disruption to GPS signals – even to agricultural equipment. On the bright side, it also provided spectacular views of the Northern Lights in parts of the country where Northern Lights are not often visible.

    Where will the Northern Lights be visible?

    While the Northern Lights are known to appear best at the planet’s poles, strong geomagnetic storms can also make them visible across larger parts of the Earth.

    The geomagnetic storm arriving Thursday has a Kp index of 8, meaning the auroras will move even further toward the equator and become very bright and very active, according to NOAA.

    “These are the events that produce the best auroras, and the extensive auroral oval will be viewable by most people,” the agency explains. “At these levels, the Northern Lights can be seen directly overhead from northern states.”

    On Thursday evening, the Northern Lights could be visible across much of the northern half of the United States and perhaps even as far north as Alabama to Northern California, according to the SWPC’s experimental aurora sightline. Visibility for viewing also depends on local weather conditions and city lights.

    States best located within the Aurora line of sight include:

    • Alaska
    • Washington
    • Idaho
    • Montana
    • North Dakota
    • Minnesota
    • Michigan
    • Wisconsin

    According to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute website, which tracks the phenomenon, the auroras could also be “very active” in parts of Nevada, Oklahoma, Arkansas and North Carolina.

    When is the best time to see the Northern Lights?

    In the upcoming solar storm, particles will stream out from the Sun, which will become trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field and, when interacting with molecules of atmospheric gases, lead to the formation of colorful auroras. The resulting brilliant green and reddish colors of the Northern Lights can be an impressive sight – if you look up at the right time.

    As auroras form, the Earth’s magnetic field redirects the particles toward the poles through a process that creates a breathtaking display of rays, spirals and flickers that has fascinated humans for millennia.

    According to NOAA, the best auroras are usually visible within an hour or two after midnight in clear weather.

    The agency maintains an aurora dashboard designed to help sky watchers track the phenomenon.

    Why solar activity creates more northern lights

    Luckily for aurora hunters, there will soon be many more opportunities to catch the northern lights.

    Electromagnetic activity is increasing as the Sun continues to reach the peak of its 11-year solar cycle, which is expected to occur in 2025, according to NASA.

    As the sun reaches the peak of solar cycle 25, sunspots are expected to increase in regions with intense magnetic activity, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. When this magnetic activity is released, it creates intense bursts of radiation that cause solar flares to race toward Earth at the speed of light.

    Some of these eruptions may be accompanied by coronal mass ejections, which emerge from the Sun’s outermost atmosphere, the corona.

    These ejections can collide with Earth’s magnetosphere, the barrier that protects humanity from the harshest effects of space weather, and create geomagnetic storms that reveal spectacular views of the northern lights in parts of the country where auroras are not often visible.

    Eric Lagatta covers breaking and breaking news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]

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