Great news! You don't have to travel to Iceland or to Alaska to see the northern lights! That's right, federal space weather forecasters are claiming that you will be able to see these incredible lights across portions of the northern U.S. According to these weather forecasters, there will be a chance to see these lights on Tuesday, July 30th. This is happening because of the predicted G3 conditions. The Space Weather Prediction Center had this to say:
" Geomagnetic storm watches are out for 29-31 July due to a number of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Solar activity was elevated through the weekend and various events, including solar flares and filament eruptions, were associated with CMEs. Some of these CMEs were determined to have Earth-directed components and arrival could begin as early as June 29th due to an event early on 27 July."
What Are The Northern Lights?
Apart from the occasional pretty photo online, many people do not get to experience the incredible light display in real life. The northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, are a stunning event in the sky. Although Space.com mentions that while it is beautiful, it is a rather violent event. They go on to explain that the beautiful northern lights that we see are "created when energized particles from the sun slam into Earth's upper atmosphere at speeds of up to 45 million mph." So much for pretty lights just dancing in the sky.
Luckily our planet has a magnetic field that protects us from this assault of energized particles. Not only does our magnetic field protect us, but it also redirects those particles towards the poles. This means, in addition to the northern lights, we also have southern lights. This process is what gives us the stunning northern lights that so many crave to see.
How The Northern Lights Form
The sun can eject charged particles from its upper atmosphere at any given moment. When this happens, it results in solar wind. The University of Chicago does a great job of explaining solar wind. They describe it as, " a flow of particles that comes off of the sun at about one million miles per hour and travels throughout the entire solar system." When that solar wind, or flow of tiny particles, comes into contact with Earth's upper atmosphere, the northern lights are born.
The reason that these lights are drawn towards the two poles is also because of magnetics. Earth's magnetic field is strongest at the poles, so the particles are deflected there. The beautiful colors of the northern lights are a result of the chemical composition of Earth's atmosphere.
Where Can I See Them This Time?
The lights are predicted to be visible across the northern U.S. While it would take a stronger force, around a G5, to bring the northern lights to all 50 states, a level G3 has proven powerful in the past. USA Today mentions, "Prior geomagnetic storms of this level have triggered auroras as far south as Illinois and Oregon, according to NOAA." So if you are in any of the northern states, be on the lookout tonight for the incredible aurora borealis.
