Folks across the far northern U.S. could have a treat Wednesday night: the appearance of the aurora borealis, aka northern lights, in the night sky.
Thanks to a recent strong geomagnetic storm from the sun, the aurora might be visible in several northern states.
The storm is rated a “G3,” which is the third level of NOAA’s five-level solar storm scale. (G1 storms are minor, while G5s are considered extreme.)
The colorful aurora forms when the particles flowing from the sun get caught up in the Earth’s magnetic field. The particles interact with molecules of atmospheric gases to cause the famed glowing red and green colors of the aurora.
States where the aurora might be visible Wednesday night include Washington, Idaho, Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, according to Accuweather.
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On Monday, NOAA’s sun-watching satellites detected two eruptions on the surface of the sun that sent enormous clouds of charged particles blasting through space. These events are known as coronal mass ejections.
After analyzing the eruptions, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center said the Earth is directly in the path of these two coronal mass ejections, which is good news for those hoping to get a glimpse of the aurora, AccuWeather said.
The lights are visible in both the far northern and southern parts of the world. The southern lights are known as the aurora australis.
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Geomagnetic storms can impact the Earth’s infrastructure, potentially disrupting communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations, NOAA says. Impacts to technology from a G3 storm generally remain small, but it can drive the aurora further south from its usual position over the polar region, NOAA said.