The northern lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, are luminous glows seen around the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres which create rings of colorful light in the night sky. This breathtaking phenomenon occurs when solar winds coming from the sun permeates into the earths magnetic fields thereby colliding with atoms and molecules of the atmosphere resulting in the luminous spectacle of series of tiny flashes which appear like moving lights in the sky otherwise dubbed the Northern Lights.
Northern Lights, which are are mostly seen in Alaska, Scandinavia and Canada, but the 11-year solar cycle that’s predicted to peak in 2024 which is extending the lights visibility to places in the south. A major disturbance as described by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center, occurred in three months ago and was visible in 30 states, making it the third severe geomagnetic storm since the most recent solar cycle began in 2019.
The northern lights are set to appear again above 17 US cities from Thursday as forecasted by the Geophysical Institute. The geomagnetic index Kp ranks auroral activity on a scale from 0-9, with 0 being Less active and 9 being Very active. A Kp of 6 has been forecasted for Thursday’s storm and this scenery will be exclusively witnessed by residents in the northern parts of the several states.
Where The Northern Lights Will Be Visible
The 17 states where the northern lights could be seen as forecasted by the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks include:
- New York
- Idaho
- Wisconsin
- Washington
- Michigan
- Alaska
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Oregon
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Minnesota
- Maine
Auroral activity also has been forecast for Vancouver, Canada .
The best viewing times according to The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center for people hoping to get see it are between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time and they must endeavor get away from city lights population as lucid skies are a necessity.
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