Forecasts predict the northern lights may appear Monday into Tuesday night, with the best viewing in pre-dawn hours.
Traditionally, aurora activity has intensified in the weeks before and after an equinox, such as the one coming up this Saturday.Brilliant auroras are generated during geomagnetic storms, typically caused when solar particles temporarily disturb Earth’s protective magnetic shielding.
Geomagnetic storms are rated on a scale from 1 to 5 .The official forecast by the NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center anticipates a moderate storm, which could make an aurora appear as a low as New York and Idaho. , however, doesn’t rule out the possibility of a G3 storm, which could mean an aurora sighting down to Illinois and Oregon.It’s also worth noting, though, that a G4 storm surprised scientists earlier this year, leading to sightings as far south as California and Arizona. The weather generally seems favorable for viewing the aurora in the northern United States with mainly clear skies expected. The exceptions will be in northern New England, where overcast skies will obstruct viewing, and in the Upper Midwest, where patchy cloud cover may make seeing the lights a challenge.The location of the aurora borealis depends on the strength of the geomagnetic storm. The lights will appear differently at different latitudes and altitudes.The colors correspond to the type and altitude of the element excited in Earth’s atmosphere. Excited oxygen atoms shine red when they are more than 120 miles above the surface but glow green from 60 to 120 miles. Excited nitrogen atoms give off pink or purple below 120 miles. A more intense aurora — dancing greens or purples — is typically at higher latitudes. Lower latitudes usually see more red.Aurora sightings aren’t completely unexpected for this time of the year. Aurora activity tends to pick up around the equinoxes, one of which occurs on Saturday. One explanation is that Earth’s magnetic field is optimally positioned to receive charged particles from the sun. This loosely-termed “aurora season” can last for weeks before or after the equinox, but theOverall, aurora activity is increasing over the next few years as the sun enters a period of high activity and sunspots known as the solar maximum.
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