NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has issued its first severe geomagnetic storm watch in almost 20 years, with the possibility of the northern lights being visible across much of the U.S., even reaching as far south as Alabama. A series of solar flares, or “explosions” from the sun, could generate geomagnetic storms from Friday evening through the weekend, leading to potentially stunning aurora displays, NOAA reported on Thursday.
Due to the storm’s intensity, northern and even some lower Midwest states may see the aurora borealis. Solar flares, which began around 5 a.m. ET on Wednesday, are linked to coronal mass ejections (CMEs)—bursts of plasma and magnetic field from the sun’s corona—that head towards Earth, taking from a few hours up to several days to arrive. These CMEs cause geomagnetic storms by disturbing the magnetic field surrounding the planet.
As particles from these ejections hit Earth’s upper atmosphere, they collide with oxygen and nitrogen particles, resulting in colorful displays known as auroras—the aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere and aurora australis in the southern hemisphere, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
To fully enjoy the spectacle, NOAA’s SWPC recommends moving away from city lights and looking up between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time, within two hours of midnight. The geomagnetic storms also have effects beyond creating beautiful light displays.
