How to view the aurora borealis in the U.S. tonight

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If you’re close to the U.S.-Canadian border tonight, you’re in luck. The Northern Lights may be sticking around a little longer, giving you another opportunity to catch a glimpse of the breathtaking natural light show.

The aurora borealis has already begun showing up across northern part of the U.S. since the weekend, with people in states such as Minnesota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, California, and Maryland reporting sightings. It also took place simultaneously with the Perseid meteor shower, which reached its peak on Sunday night.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) now states that the Northern Lights may still be visible in the top north of the country on Tuesday, gracing areas such as northern Michigan and Maine.

Credit: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center

Even if you aren’t sure whether you’re close enough to the north, it may still be worth going outside and looking up just to check. The SWPC states that auroras can be seen from over 600 miles away, provided the conditions are right.

To get the best view of the Northern Lights, you’ll want to be in an area with as little light pollution as possible. Cloud cover can also obscure the display, though unfortunately there’s little that can be done about that. You should also make sure your timing is right. The aurora borealis isn’t visible during the day, so try searching for it after sunset. The SWPC recommends between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. as the optimal viewing time.

The solar winds that cause auroras can disrupt power grids and satellites. Fortunately, the SWPC only expects a possibility of “weak power grid fluctuations” and a “minor impact on satellite operations,” so you can enjoy the light show free of concerns.

How are auroras formed?

The Northern Lights during the Perseids meteor shower in California’s Joshua Tree National Park on August 12, 2024.
Credit: APU GOMES / AFP via Getty Images

Auroras are caused by activity on the Sun’s surface, such as solar flares. This week’s particular spectacle is thanks to a recent coronal mass ejection.

The Sun’s corona is the outermost layer of its atmosphere, which consists of a superheated ionised gas called plasma. When a coronal mass ejection occurs, large amounts of plasma and magnetic field is expelled from the Sun’s corona. Such solar farts travel more slowly than solar flares, with the fastest moving coronal mass ejections taking almost a full day to reach Earth.

Once the solar wind does arrive, most of it is deflected back out into space by Earth’s magnetic field. However, some of its charged ion particles enter said field instead, moving to the polar regions where it’s weakest. These ions collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms, creating a reaction which gives us an aurora.

Auroras that take place in Earth’s Northern Hemisphere are called aurora borealis, or the Northern Lights. Ones that occur in the Southern Hemisphere are called aurora australis, or the Southern Lights.

Those down in Australia and New Zealand have also been enjoying the aurora australis this week, which lit up the night sky in bright pink and green.

The Southern Lights glowing on the horizon over the waters of Lake Ellesmere on the outskirts of Christchurch, New Zealand, on August 12, 2024.
Credit: Sanka Vidanagama / NurPhoto via Getty Images

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Here’s how to view the aurora borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, if you’re in the U.S.