STARGAZERS across America could look up and see the northern lights as a solar storm slams into Earth, forecasters said.
For one night only, dazzling auroras might be visible from Canada and parts of the United States on Monday into Tuesday morning.
The northern lights visible in Oregon on May 11, 2024[/caption]
Nasa predicts the solar storm will impact Earth late on Monday[/caption]
The northern lights seen from the coast of Lake Superior via a long exposure in September 2022[/caption]
After a powerful solar flare erupted from the sun on Saturday, experts predicted a geomagnetic storm would hit Earth’s magnetic field late on Monday, according to scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
The massive storm is called a cannibal coronal mass ejection, meaning a faster ejection from the sun devoured a slower one, making a more powerful wave of solar material traveling through space.
It launched a full-halo CME, meaning a large eruption of plasma clouds from the sun fired off directly at Earth.
The chaotic mass created by the cannibal CME leads to stronger storms and more vibrant auroras once it impacts Earth’s magnetic field.
This will set off a stunning display of colorful lights in the night sky called the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights.
Auroras are more common near the North Pole and South Pole.
But tonight, people in 18 US states might be able to see the green or red glow of the lights.
The geomagnetic storm is expected to peak between 2 and 5 am ET, according to NOAA’s forecast.
However, cloudy weather could block the view.
CLOUDY NIGHT AHEAD
David Roth, a meteorologist at the Weather Prediction Center, told the New York Times that some northern states will have cloudy skies, but the majority of states will be clear on Monday
“The Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, the Great Lakes will be clear,” Roth said.
“Southern New England should be clearing out too.”
Cloudy skies were expected across northern New England, northern New York, and parts of Minnesota, but the forecast could shift throughout the night.
But conditions down south are looking clearer for stargazers who want a glimpse of the northern lights display.
States to see the northern lights
On Monday night, the aurora borealis might be visible in the following states:
- Alaska
- Montana
- North Dakota
- Minnesota
- Wisconsin
- Michigan
- Maine
- South Dakota
- Vermont
- New Hampshire
- Idaho
- Washington
- Oregon
- New York
- Wyoming
- Iowa
- Nebraska
- Illinois
Source: NOAA
Southern New York and North Carolina will likely be able to see the lights.
However, Midwestern states like Kentucky, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska will see mostly cloudy skies, while Illinois and Indiana will be clear enough to look.
The Northern Lights over Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota[/caption]
NOAA predicts the cannibal CME will create vibrant auroras when it slams into Earth[/caption]
Roth said the skies out west will be clear, so Californians and west coasters can check out the lights before settling in for the night.
Different gases make different colors in the lights.
Oxygen in the sky makes green or red light during an aurora, while nitrogen creates shades of blue and purple.
It’s best to watch for auroras in a quiet, dark area away from city lights.
Auroras – how do they work?
Here’s the official explanation from Nasa…
- The dancing lights of the auroras provide spectacular views on the ground, but also capture the imagination of scientists who study incoming energy and particles from the sun
- Auroras are one effect of such energetic particles, which can speed out from the sun both in a steady stream called the solar wind and due to giant eruptions known as coronal mass ejections or CMEs
- After a trip toward Earth that can last two to three days, the solar particles and magnetic fields cause the release of particles already trapped near Earth, which in turn trigger reactions in the upper atmosphere in which oxygen and nitrogen molecules release photons of light
- The result: the Northern and Southern lights.
