Current:Home > NewsSeveral states may see northern lights this weekend: When and where could aurora appear? -AssetTrainer
Several states may see northern lights this weekend: When and where could aurora appear?
Algosensey View
Date:2025-04-11 01:31:23
The sun has had a busy week.
The first few days of October have seen plenty of solar activity with two observed coronal mass ejections, including the massive X7.1 solar flare on Tuesday, and then a rare X9 solar flare on Thursday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center.
Solar flares are sudden eruptions of energy that occur on the sun's surface and can trigger aurora sightings here on Earth.
This means the coming weekend could bring the chance for many Americans to potentially see the northern lights − the colorful phenomena known as aurora borealis − in the skies on Friday and Saturday evenings.
You may be noticing more aurora:What to know as sun reaches solar maximum
Northern lights may peak Saturday evening
As of Friday afternoon, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center predicts a "mild-strong" geomagnetic storm from Oct. 4-6, with activity peaking on late Saturday evening heading into Sunday.
The center said outside variables could impact the reliability of the forecast including the precise trajectory of the solar eruption, which can change during its 93 million mile journey to Earth.
"This forecast comes with a fair amount of uncertainty because initial space weather predictions rely on remote and limited solar observations," the center said in a statement to USA TODAY Wednesday. "Auroras can be unpredictable, waxing and waning quickly. Visibility might range from bright and relatively high in the sky to faint and low on the Northern Horizon (maybe only visible with long-exposure camera shots), or even not visible at all."
On Friday, the center anticipates that the northern lights will be visible, assuming clear weather conditions, near the Canadian border. On Saturday, the phenomenon may be visible as far south as Oregon, Nebraska, Illinois and Pennsylvania. As of Friday, weather models showed that large portions of the United States are forecast to have clear skies Saturday evening.
Why are the northern lights more frequent?
As auroras form, Earth's magnetic field redirects the particles toward the poles through a process that produces a stunning display of rays, spirals and flickers that has fascinated humans for millennia. Whether hues of green, red, blue and pink dance about in the sky is due to the altitude in which the collisions occur, as well as the composition and density of the atmosphere at the time.
By then sunspots located in regions of intense magnetic activity should increase, according to the NOAA. When that magnetic activity is released, it creates intense bursts of radiation resulting in solar flares – considered by NASA to be our solar system's largest explosive events.
Solar flares emit radiation commonly in the form of ultraviolet light and X-rays that can hurtle toward Earth at the speed of light. Some of these flares can be accompanied by coronal mass ejections, or clouds of plasma and charged particles, that emerge from the sun's outermost atmosphere, the corona.
These ejections can collide with Earth’s magnetosphere, the barrier protecting humanity from the harshest impacts of space weather, to produce geomagnetic storms.
As auroras form, Earth's magnetic field redirects the particles toward the poles through a process that produces a stunning display of rays, spirals and flickers that has fascinated humans for millennia. Whether hues of green, red, blue and pink dance about in the sky is due to the altitude in which the collisions occur, as well as the composition and density of the atmosphere at the time.
Eric Lagatta and Anthony Robledo Jr. contributed to this report.
Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at [email protected]
veryGood! (6255)
Related
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $300 Shoulder Bag for $69
- Here's what's behind the Wordle c-r-a-z-e
- Transcript: Sen. Chris Coons on Face the Nation, April 23, 2023
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- Len Goodman, Dancing With the Stars judge, dies at 78
- Elizabeth Holmes spent 7 days defending herself against fraud. Will the jury buy it?
- How an American Idol Contestant Used the Show to Get Revenge on a Classmate Who Kanye'd Her
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- India's population set to surpass China's in summer 2023, U.N. says
Ranking
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Facebook, Google and Twitter limit ads over Russia's invasion of Ukraine
- TikToker Dylan Mulvaney Reveals What She's Looking for in a Romantic Partner
- Watch these robotic fish swim to the beat of human heart cells
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Photo of late Queen Elizabeth II with grandchildren and great-grandchildren released to mark 97th birthday
- Fire in Beijing hospital kills at least 21, forces dozens to escape from windows
- Inside Pregnant Rumer Willis’ Baby Shower With Demi Moore, Emma Heming and Sisters
Recommendation
Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
Penn Badgley Shares Insight Into His Wild Fatherhood Journey With 2-Year-Old Son
Spotify will add a COVID advisory to podcasts after the Joe Rogan controversy
Jurors to weigh Elizabeth Holmes' fate after a 15-week fraud trial
The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
Tyler Cameron Reveals He Only Had $200 in the Bank When He Dated Gigi Hadid
Without Inventor James West, This Interview Might Not Have Been Possible
As the jury deliberates Elizabeth Holmes' fate, experts say 'fraud is complicated'