The top row
This week’s geomagnetic storm watch ends on Thursday, so it may be the last night aurora chasers can see the Northern Lights this week, although scientists say the aurora will be more active as the sun passes since its last solar cycle and reaches its peak sometime between late 2024 and 2026.
The northern lights shine in the night sky.
Basic elements
Thursday night’s aurora has a Kp index of four, meaning the lights will move farther from the poles and appear brighter to observers, making them “pleasing to look at” under the right viewing conditions. according in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
This comes after coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – explosions of solar material – released over the weekend reached Earth on Tuesday and Wednesday, causing light emissions in several continental US states.
A “Cannibal CME,” which occurs when two CMEs combine to form a massive CME that causes powerful aurora displays, reached Earth on Tuesday and was accompanied by a train of smaller CMEs that reached Earth on Wednesday.
NOAA issued geomagnetic storm watches starting Monday that originally ended Wednesday night, but have now been extended into Thursday, and forecasters expect another CME to reach Earth on Thursday and cause a moderate G2 geomagnetic storm or a small G1 geomagnetic storm, according at Spaceweather.com, a database run by astronomer Tony Philips.
Where will the Northern Lights be visible tonight?
Although it is difficult to predict exactly where the lights will be visible, NOAA offers a forecast with a possible projection line (see below). US states within the line of sight of the aurora include Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, and Maine.
Line of aurora sight Thursday night.
What’s the best way to see the Northern Lights?
The lights are usually on more active between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. EDT. For the best view 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 the best viewing conditions, and finding a vantage point such as on top of a hill. Smoky sky due fires in Canada and California may affect the views of some northern US aurora hunters
What is the best way to photograph the Northern Lights?
Smartphone cameras are quite sensitive to pick up the aurora, even when it is invisible to the naked eye. Visit Icelanda tourism site for Iceland, where the lights are often visible, advises turning on night mode to better increase smartphone camera exposure.
Key background
NOAA Very Active Sunspots Dubbed as NOAA Active Region 13664 it is the cause of the Northern Lights emerging in the US since May. These sunspots caused a G5 geomagnetic storm—which is the higher label storms may have—in May, leading to the strongest storm since Halloween solar storms of 2003. Researchers believe a Cannibal CME was also the culprit behind May’s dazzling lights. A celestial event called Solar Cycle 25—the cycle the sun completes every 11 years—was the cause of the geomagnetic storms that resulted in recent observations of the Northern Lights. Started in 2019 and estimated to arrive peak—when solar activity will reach its peak—from late 2024 to early 2026. It is estimated to peak with 115 sunspots, from which geomagnetic storms originate. Although the peak has not yet occurred, the sun’s activity has been busier than scientists expected, so it is possible that there will be even more geomagnetic storms leading up to the peak, although it is difficult to predict exactly when these will occur the storms.
