Federal space weather forecasters said Monday that the northern lights could be visible in parts of the northern United States this week due to strong solar activity over the weekend.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center issued a G3 or “severe” geomagnetic storm warning on Tuesday.
Space.com said that if predicted G3 conditions are met, aurora could be seen in the far north of the United States on Monday and Tuesday nights. Previous geomagnetic storms of this magnitude have triggered auroras as far south as Illinois and Oregon, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In comparison, the geomagnetic storm on May 10, which allowed auroras to be seen across a large swath of the United States, was rated G5 (most extreme) and brought the Northern Lights to all 50 states.
What are the Northern Lights? How do the Northern Lights work?
According to NASA, auroras are bands of light that pass through the Earth's Arctic or Antarctic regions. Geomagnetic storms triggered by solar activity, such as solar flares or the coronal mass ejection that occurred this weekend, are responsible for them. The solar wind carries high-energy charged particles produced by these events away from the Sun.
According to Space.com, these charged particles hit the atmosphere at 45 million mph and are redirected toward the poles by Earth's magnetic field, creating the light show.
During major geomagnetic storms, auroras move far away from the poles and can be seen in parts of the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
What are solar cycles? What is the solar maximum period?
The current increase in solar activity is because we are approaching the peak of the solar cycle.
The solar cycle tracks the activity levels of our nearest star, the Sun. Traditionally, the cycle has been measured by rising and falling numbers of sunspots, but it also coincides with increases in solar flares, coronal mass ejections, radio emissions and other forms of space weather.
The number of sunspots on the sun's surface changes in a fairly regular cycle, which scientists call the sun's 11-year solar cycle. Sunspot activity and auroral activity tend to peak every 11 years.
Sunspots produce solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which produce geomagnetic storms on Earth, causing auroras to appear.
“We are entering the peak of solar cycle 25,” Erica Gro-SeyA spokesperson for the National Weather Service recently told USA Today.
“This period of high activity is expected to last until the first half of 2025,” she said, meaning additional opportunities to see the auroras will continue for at least next year.
Contributed by: Chad Murphy, USA TODAY Network
