A Solar Storm Could Make The Northern Lights Visible In NY This Week
The Aurora Borealis, more commonly known as the Northern Lights, is a stunning display of color that has found its way on many people’s bucket lists, and those of us who haven’t had the chance to cross it off yet may be in luck–a solar storm forecast for Thursday is expected to make the Northern Lights visible in 17 states, and New York is one of them!
The forecast comes from The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, who predict that auroral activity will be high this Thursday, June 13, due to a solar storm, with lights visible in parts of the U.S. and Canada.
The U.S. states that have a chance of catching the dazzling display include New York, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Hampshire, Vermont, Indiana, Maine, and Maryland.
Most notably, light displays are mostly expected to be visible overhead in Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Helena, Montana, and low on the horizon in Salem, Oregon, Boise, Idaho, Cheyenne, Wyoming, Annapolis, Maryland, and Indianapolis.
And though the lights likely won’t be visible in NYC due to light pollution, those in darker, more rural parts of New York may be able to catch the spectacle. The best viewing times are between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time, according to The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center.
The Northern Lights are most often seen in Alaska, Canada, and Scandinavia when magnetic solar winds crash into the Earth’s atmosphere, causing atoms to glow.
However, this solar storm is switching things up a bit. Though expected to peak in 2024, the 11-year solar cycle is making the lights visible in places farther south than usual.
The Geophysical Institute has forecast a ranking of Kp 6 on the geomagnetic index–which ranks auroral activity–for Thursday’s storm. The scale ranges from zero to nine, with nine being the most active.
Aurora forecasts can be tracked on NOAA’s website.
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