Will northern lights be seen this weekend? See aurora forecast map

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More than a dozen states within the northern a part of the contiguous U.S. have an opportunity to see the northern lights.

About 15 states may catch a glimpse of the aurora borealis on Aug. 9, based on the most recent forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

An earlier forecast for Friday, Aug. 8, confirmed a risk of seeing the aurora in about 18 states was downgraded to a lesser occasion shorter earlier than 8 a.m. ET.

A coronal mass ejection, or giant expulsions of plasma and magnetic discipline from the solar, lifted off the star on Aug. 5, elevating expectations to trigger geomagnetic exercise, based on NOAA.

For Aug. 9, NOAA mentioned it predicts a geomagnetic Okay-index of 5. The K-index measures geomagnetic exercise and signifies how distant from the poles the northern lights may very well be seen, based on the company. A Kp rating between 3-5 signifies brighter and elevated exercise, per NOAA.

On one other geomagnetic storm scale, NOAA ranks the occasion a G1, which is taken into account a minor occasion.

The northern lights, a pure phenomenon formally generally known as the aurora borealis, can venture colourful lights within the night time sky due to an interplay between the solar’s plasma and Earth’s magnetic discipline, based on the National Weather Service.

When may the northern lights be seen?

The greatest view of the northern lights is often inside an hour or two of midnight, based on NOAA.

The aurora will not be seen throughout sunlight hours, and is often seen simply after sundown or simply earlier than dawn, based on the company.

Where may the northern lights be seen? See map

Parts of about 15 states are inside NOAA’s forecasted “view line” for the northern lights on Aug. 9. The view line signifies the southernmost level the place the aurora may very well be seen on the northern horizon.

The following states may catch a glimpse of the aurora, based on NOAA’s forecasted view line:

  • Alaska
  • Idaho
  • Iowa
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Montana
  • New Hampshire
  • New York
  • North Dakota
  • South Dakota
  • Vermont
  • Washington
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming

Melina Khan is a nationwide trending reporter for USA TODAY. She might be reached at [email protected]


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