Mar 23, 2025 10:18 AM IST
A powerful geomagnetic storm will produce northern lights in almost two dozen US states on Saturday night time
A powerful geomagnetic storm will produce northern lights in almost two dozen US states on Saturday night time, the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) prediction states. The forecast map and typical aurora visibility patterns throughout a G3 storm present that states from the Pacific Northwest to the Northeast will see the aurora borealis below favorable climate circumstances.
Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota have a ‘excessive probability’ of seeing the aurora. When you reside in these stats, you’ll probably see the Northern Lights tonight.
Learn Extra: Northern lights this week? NOAA predicts strong G3 geomagnetic storm
Here is the listing:
1. Alaska
2. Washington
3. Oregon
4. Idaho
5. Montana
6. Wyoming
7. North Dakota
8. South Dakota
9. Nebraska
10. Minnesota
11. Iowa
12. Wisconsin
13. Michigan
14. Illinois
15. Indiana
16. Ohio
17. Pennsylvania
18. New York
19. Vermont
20. New Hampshire
21. Maine
22. Massachusetts
This listing begins with Alaska and contains northern states generally inside the auroral view line throughout sturdy geomagnetic storms, extending to states like Illinois and Oregon (talked about because the southern restrict for G3 visibility) and eastward to the Northeast.
Learn Extra: Never-seen-before video of aurora by NASA astronaut impresses most, but some claim it’s ‘intensely fake’
Finest time to see the lights
The Northern Lights are finest considered when it’s darkish exterior, notably between 10 PM and a couple of AM native time, in response to the NOAA. Visibility relies on elements like clear skies, minimal mild air pollution, and the storm’s depth (forecasted Kp index of 6.67), and never all states might even see the aurora equally properly.
Why do Nothern Lights kind?
The northern lights kind when charged particles from the solar, carried by the photo voltaic wind, hit Earth’s ambiance. Throughout photo voltaic occasions like coronal mass ejections, these particles—largely electrons and protons—journey to Earth and get trapped by its magnetic subject. Funneled towards the poles, they collide with nitrogen and oxygen within the higher ambiance, thrilling the gases. Because the gases launch vitality, they emit mild: nitrogen glows purple or pink, oxygen inexperienced. This creates the aurora’s colourful show.
