aurora It is expected to reappear over the next few days, painting the sky above the U.S.-Canada border with beautiful colors. Here’s how to watch the amazing natural light show of the Northern Lights.
Video showing the return of the giant sunspot that created the aurora borealis
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Space Weather Forecast Center (SWPC), northern U.S. states may be able to see the aurora borealis From October 4thThe display is expected to last until October 6th. You may also be able to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights in some areas from the Midwest to Oregon, but the chances increase the further up the country you go.
This weekend’s aurora is Strong G3 magnetic storm predicted to arrive on Earth over the next three daysSWPC has issued a geomagnetic storm watch through Sunday. Fortunately, these storms should be dazzling rather than destructive. Although geomagnetic storms can cause problems such as power outages and radio interference, SWPC says that “limited and minor impacts to some technical infrastructure” that may occur during these particular storms are “not expected.” It is predicted that this will be mainly mitigable. Therefore, you can enjoy the aurora viewing with peace of mind.
How to get the best view of the Northern Lights
Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center
Although you can’t control the weather or cloud cover that hides the Northern Lights, you can take some steps to ensure you get the best view possible.
First, you need to make sure you’re looking up at the right time. If you look for the Northern Lights before sunset, you will be disappointed, as they are not clearly visible during the day. Instead, try it at night when the dark sky provides a contrasting background for the northern lights. According to SWPC, the best times to see the Northern Lights are: Between 10pm and 2am
mashable light speed
Also, try to view the aurora borealis from an area with as little light pollution as possible. If you’re willing to travel, Certified Dark Sky Place It’s close to the US-Canada border, so visibility is good. These locations have been independently reviewed and found to have minimal light pollution, giving you the best possible views of the night sky.
If you can’t travel to these areas, just get outside and look up. When the conditions are met, The Northern Lights can be seen from over 900 miles away.
What causes the aurora borealis?
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Auroras can also be caused by solar flares, but you can thank coronal mass ejections for this special display. As the name suggests, a coronal mass ejection is when the Sun emits a large amount of plasma and magnetic field from the outermost layer of its atmosphere, the corona.
The resulting solar wind makes its way toward Earth, but it may take some time to arrive. even The fastest coronal mass ejections could take almost a day to get hereOn the other hand, radiation from solar flares is Arrive in as little as 8 minutes.
Upon arrival, most of the solar wind moved away from the earth Thanks to the planet’s magnetic field. However, not all of them are sent back into space, and some charged ionic particles enter the field. particles like this Travel to the polar regions of the Earth where the magnetic field is the weakest, Collisions with oxygen and nitrogen atoms Once there.
This chemical reaction creates the colorful lights that make up the aurora borealis. Those in the northern hemisphere are called aurora borealis, and those in the southern hemisphere are called aurora borealis.
