A geomagnetic storm watch was issued for Wednesday, and scientists predict the storm may cause the Northern Lights to be visible in several continental U.S. states.
387304 01: UNDATED FILE PHOTO: Aurora Australis, the Southern Lights as seen from South Australia as ... [+]
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a minor G1 storm watch for Wednesday that may cause the Northern Lights to pop up in several northern and Midwestern states.
A medium-sized solar flare that occurred over the weekend is behind the coronal mass ejection—or an eruption of solar material—that's causing a “glancing blow” of geomagnetic storms.
Tuesday night’s aurora has a Kp index of four, meaning there will be more activity as the lights become brighter and “quite pleasing to look at” if weather conditions are optimal, according to NOAA.
Solar activity has been unusually busy in recent months as the sun’s 11-year solar cycle approaches its anticipated peak between late 2024 and early 2026, with sunspots expected to intensify over the next year, and likely triggering more geomagnetic storms.
Although it’s hard to estimate where exactly the Northern Lights will show up, they may be the most visible Wednesday night in Canada and Alaska, according to NOAA (see image below). However, continental U.S. states within the aurora’s view line include Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine.
Wednesday night's aurora view line.
The lights are typically the most active between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. For the best views of the Northern Lights, the agency advises traveling as close to the poles as possible, avoiding city lights and other light pollution, monitoring weather forecasts for prime viewing conditions and finding a position on a vantage point like a hilltop.
Smartphone cameras are sensitive enough to pick up the aurora, even when it’s invisible to the naked eye. Visit Iceland, a tourist website for Iceland, where the lights are often visible, advises turning on night mode to best increase smartphone camera exposure.
Solar Cycle 25—the cycle the sun goes through around every 11 years—has been the cause of geomagnetic storms that have resulted in recent sightings of the Northern Lights, and NASA predicts it will continue on into next year. Cycle 25 began in Dec. 2019, and it’s estimated it will reach its maximum—when activity is expected to peak—between late 2024 and early 2026. It’s projected to peak with 115 sunspots, which are where geomagnetic storms originate. Although the maximum hasn’t happened yet, the sun’s activity has been busier than scientists anticipated, so it’s possible there will be even more geomagnetic storms leading up to 2026, though it’s difficult to predict exactly when these storms will occur.
215.5. That’s how many daily sunspots there were during the month of August, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center. This is the highest monthly sunspot number since Solar Cycle 23 averaged 238.2 spots in 2003.