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It’s the height Northern lights seasonBut skies have been relatively calm lately, with only a few moderate aurora appearances over the past month. Get ready, though. The northern lights may light up the skies over parts of the United States over the next couple of days, giving people in northern states a chance to enjoy rainbow skies.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the aurora borealis on Monday and Tuesday are coming to Earth by a rather large amount. X1.4 solar flare Which erupted from the sun late on March 29 and was captured on video by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. The flare came from region 4405 of the Sun, a region known to be magnetically complex and highly active. The glow continued for hours and peaked at 11:19 PM ET Sunday night.
A coronal eruption may or may not have caused a good aurora, but it certainly affected radio communications and GPS.
The flare also unleashed a coronal mass ejection, a large explosion of plasma that can create an aurora, and this ejection must at least partially interact with Earth’s geomagnetic field. Any aurora generated by the solar storm likely won’t be very strong, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a statement Radio blackout at R3 level. High frequency radio communications were affected for about an hour, and the quality of the satellite navigation signal deteriorated for a period of time. This primarily affected Australia and South Asia, which were the sunlit parts of the world when the solar flare erupted.
Northern lights this week
Monday’s aurora borealis is nothing to write home about unless you’re in Alaska or Canada, although northern states like Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota may see some action.
Tuesday’s aurora borealis are expected to be a show, with 15 states likely lining up to see the northern lights. Surely some people in Washington state, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, and far northern Wisconsin should see something. People who climb high enough and face north may see some northern lights on the horizon if they are in Wyoming, South Dakota, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, New York State, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The 15th state is Alaska, which will have its usual distinctive view of the Northern Lights across almost the entire state.
Tips for seeing the Northern Lights
How you see the northern lights varies depending on how far south you are. Residents of Alaska, Washington, Montana, Minnesota, North Dakota, and the northern half of Wisconsin will have a much easier time than everyone else. All they have to do is get out, stay out of the spotlight, and look up. The aurora should be spread across the entire sky, so it’s very easy to see once you’re away from city and suburban lights.
The offer will be more stringent for the other states listed. The aurora should be at least partially visible along those states’ northern horizon, which means the key to seeing it is to get as high up as possible. The higher level you can reach, the better your chances.