The northern lights could be visible Wednesday night along seven states in the northern U.S., as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts strong solar radiation and increased geomagnetic activity that will likely continue through the end of the week.
The Aurora Borealis, commonly known as the Northern Lights, are seen in the sky above Alta, Norway.
NOAA said a strong solar radiation storm is expected to make the aurora borealis visible throughout Canada, along the Canadian border and in seven U.S. states: Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The agency measures solar radiation storms—occurring when magnetic eruptions rapidly accelerate particles from the sun’s surface toward the Earth’s north and south poles—on a scale from S1 to S5, with Wednesday night’s storm graded at S3, which NOAA said could expose passengers and crew in high-flying aircraft to radiation.
Geomagnetic activity for Wednesday night is forecast with a Kp index of 5, according to the NOAA, meaning the aurora borealis could be “quite pleasing to look at” if viewers are in the affected areas.
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Northern lights are most visible between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time, according to the NOAA, which recommends viewers travel as far north as possible toward a high vantage point that avoids light pollution. The lights can be photographed with a smartphone, though it’s better to avoid using flash.
Wednesday night's view line.
The NOAA expects the aurora borealis view line to be far lower into the continental U.S. Thursday night, creating lights that will become “very bright and very active,” though the solar radiation storm will likely die down by Friday.
Aurora borealis, or northern lights, appear as patches of glowing lights in the sky that appear to be a mixture of pink, blue, green, yellow and purple. The phenomenon is caused by particles from the sun that enter the Earth’s atmosphere at its magnetic poles. After colliding with the Earth’s magnetic field, the particles return to a lower energy state and release colorful lights, or aurorae. The lights are expected to become more active in 2025 because of an increased number of solar flares and geomagnetic storms, according to NASA.