Don't Miss the Northern Lights This Week—Here's Where the Sky Will Glow Brightest
If you missed the northern lights over the weekend, don't worry. You might have another chance to see this one-of-a-kind phenomenon this week. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), some northern states may experience the aurora borealis again from Monday, June 2 through Tuesday, June 3.
Most of Canada will have a chance to see the northern lights tonight, along with some U.S. states. People living in Alaska, Montana, Washington, Idaho, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and upstate New York have the greatest likelihood of seeing the aurora borealis tonight.
Fewer states will have a chance of spotting the phenomenon tomorrow night. According to the NOAA forecast, the northern areas of states that directly border Canada will have the best odds.
As Earth approaches the summer solstice on June 21, more northern lights sightings across the U.S. are likely. The geomagnetic storm expected to make the northern lights visible tonight and tomorrow began over the weekend and is being spurred on by an ongoing coronal mass ejection, which occurs when the sun spews large amounts of plasma and magnetic field out into space.
The Kp index is expected to reach five tonight and four tomorrow night. The Kp Index is a numeric scale, ranging from one to 10, that describes geomagnetic activity and is calculated by averaging the magnetic activity globally every three hours. Per NOAA, for Kp in the 3 to 5 range, the aurora will become brighter and there will be more auroral activity.
NOAA is currently forecasting a geomagnetic storm of G3 or greater, which means auroras may reach further south. The best viewing window is usually between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time.
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