In the wake of a “severe” geomagnetic storm on New Years Day that sparked the northern lights across the U.S., more aurora may be visible in the coming days.
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) has forecast G1 geomagnetic storms on Saturday and Sunday, which could make the northern lights visible as far south as northern Maine and Michigan.
A SWPC map reveals that the northern lights could be visible tonight on the northern horizon across Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The pending light show is connected to a huge, inbound cloud of plasma and magnetic field spat out from the sun—a phenomena scientists call a coronal mass ejection, or “CME”, for short.
“Unsettled-to-active levels are expected on 03 Jan due to waning CME effects,” the SWPC said in a statement.
“G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storming is likely 04–05 Jan first due to possible, glancing CME effects from an event that left the Sun on 01 Jan.”
Further storming may result from so-called “Coronal Hole High Speed Streams”—where the solar wind “blows” faster out of cooler regions of the sun known as coronal holes.
On January 1, G4 levels were detected, resulting in the aurora being spied as far south as Arizona, Colorado and Mexico.
What Causes the Northern Lights?
The northern lights are usually triggered by huge clouds of plasma spat out from the sun—known as coronal mass ejections or CMEs—hitting our planet’s magnetic field and sparking a geomagnetic storm.
The charged particles from the CME are funneled toward Earth’s polar regions by the planet’s magnetic field lines, spiraling along these lines toward the Earth’s ionosphere.
The G4 (Severe) Geomagnetic Storm Alert threshold was reached on January 1st, 2025 at 1241 ET due to continued effects from the CME’s that left the Sun on December 29th. Stay tuned to https://t.co/4CNTc1ISA1 for updates! pic.twitter.com/Han3mjQNqV
— NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (@NWSSWPC) January 1, 2025
“CMEs contain huge numbers of charged particles, which strongly interact with magnetic fields,” Jonti Horner, an astrophysics professor at Australia’s University of Southern Queensland, told Newsweek.
“When those particles hit Earth’s magnetic field, they tend to flow along the magnetic field lines, crashing into the atmosphere near the magnetic poles. When those particles hit the atmosphere, they excite the atoms in the upper atmosphere causing them to glow—which is what causes the aurora.”
As the charged particles collide with atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, they transfer energy to these particles and cause them to glow. The colors of the aurora depend on the type of gas and altitude of the collisions, with green light being produced by oxygen at lower altitudes, red light by higher altitude oxygen and purple/blue light being a result of nitrogen molecules.
More powerful geomagnetic storms result in the northern lights being seen further towards the equator. G1 storms are the weakest class, while G5 storms are the most powerful.
The G5 storm recorded in May last year was the first of its kind since 2003.
When is the Best Time to See the Northern Lights?
The auroras are most visible during the late evening and early morning hours when the skies are darkest, however, activity can occur at any time during the night, so staying outside for an extended period increases your chances.
“One factor aiding in the potential to see the lights is that we are currently in a New Moon phase, allowing the night sky to be very dark,” Brandon Buckingham, a meteorologist at AccuWeather, previously told Newsweek.
“Unfortunately, over the next few days, clear skies will be tough to come by across the northern tier of the United States, likely making it very difficult for widespread viewing ability.”
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