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    • Auroras may be visible on Thanksgiving
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    Auroras may be visible on Thanksgiving

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    Aurora hunters have a reason to be thankful Thursday as a solar storm is forecast to reach Earth and produce colorful northern lights in the Northern Hemisphere.

    The dazzling phenomenon, also known as the aurora borealis, should be visible on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday in parts of the northern United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

    The celestial display of greenish and reddish hues is believed to be due to a coronal mass ejection hurtling toward Earth, prompting the NOAA-paced Weather Prediction Center to issue a geomagnetic storm watch for both Thursday and Friday.

    The solar storm could pose minimal threat to things like satellites, GPS signals and power grids, but could also provide some extra Thanksgiving entertainment after football and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade are long over. Because of the way the sun’s particles interact with Earth’s magnetosphere, the powerful outburst should make the vibrant Northern Lights visible to a wider swath of the Northern Hemisphere than normal.

    Here’s what you need to know about the Northern Lights and how you might be able to see them on Thanksgiving Eve in the United States.

    Northern Lights: Amid solar maximum, auroras should be more visible across the US

    NOAA issues geomagnetic storm watch for Thanksgiving week

    Since Sunday, NOAA has been monitoring a coronal mass ejection that exploded from the Sun on a trajectory that should reach Earth later this week.

    Forecasters use a five-level scale to measure geometric storms, which are caused when coronal mass ejections release solar particles and electromagnetic radiation toward our planet. The solar storm is relatively small; NOAA measures a small G1 intensity on Thursday and a moderate G2 intensity on Friday.

    Of course, the forecast storm won’t quite have the oomph of the G4-level whopper that passed through on October 10, but it should still reveal the Northern Hemisphere aurorae.

    Where will the auroras be visible?

    The aurorae are best seen around the magnetic poles of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres in places like Europe, Asia and North America. In the US, Alaska is known for having the best viewing opportunities for the Northern Lights.

    But Thursday’s upcoming solar storm should make the auroras visible further from the poles. The geomagnetic activity has a Kp index of 5, which means the Northern Lights will also be brighter, according to NOAA.

    “If you’re in the right place, these auroras can be very pleasant to watch,” the agency says.

    In the U.S., the aurorae may become visible in some northern and upper Midwestern states, from New York to Idaho, according to SWPC’s experimental Aurora viewing line. Visibility for viewing will also depend on local weather conditions and city lights.

    The Northern Lights may also be visible low on the horizon in several states, according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute website, which tracks the phenomenon.

    These include:

    • Boise, Idaho;
    • Cheyenne, WY;
    • Lincoln, Nebraska;
    • Indianapolis;
    • Annapolis, Maryland;

    When is the best time to see the Northern Lights?

    The solar storms send particles from the sun that become entangled in the Earth’s magnetic field, creating colorful auroras as they interact with molecules of atmospheric gases. In the coming months, the resulting glowing aurorae could be quite a sight to see – if you look up at the right time.

    Although conditions are favorable for more impending aurora shows, experts have long struggled to accurately predict when and where the phenomenon will ever occur. Even the best predictions can be made accurately only a few days or even hours in advance.

    But as a rule of thumb, in clear weather the best aurora is usually visible within an hour or two after midnight, according to NOAA. And if it looks like the Northern Lights are flaring up near you, it’s advisable to leave the cities and travel to dark locations that are free of light pollution.

    The agency also maintains an aurora dashboard that allows skygazers to monitor the phenomenon.

    What causes the Northern Lights

    The auroras are a display of natural light in Earth’s sky and are best seen in high latitude areas of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

    The phenomenon is caused when electrically charged particles from space enter Earth’s atmosphere and collide with molecules and gases such as oxygen and nitrogen, causing the atmospheric particles to gain energy. To return to their normal state, the particles release that energy in the form of light, according to the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.

    As auroras form, Earth’s magnetic field sends the particles toward the poles through a process that produces a stunning display of beams, spirals and flickers that have fascinated people for thousands of years. Whether shades of green, red, blue and even pink dance around in the sky depends on the altitude at which the collisions occur, as well as the composition and density of the atmosphere at that time.

    Why Northern Lights activity is increasing

    Now that the sun is at the peak of its 11-year cycle, increased solar activity has fueled more frequent space weather that creates the right conditions for the Northern Lights to bloom.

    Areas of intense magnetic activity, known as sunspots, multiply on the solar surface and are capable of releasing intense bursts of radiation, resulting in solar flares that can race toward Earth at the speed of light, according to NOAA. Some of these outbursts may be accompanied by coronal mass ejections, or clouds of plasma and charged particles, emerging from the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona.

    These emissions can collide with Earth’s magnetosphere, the barrier that protects humanity from the harshest effects of space weather, and create geomagnetic storms that unleash spectacular views of the Northern Lights in parts of the country where auroras are not often visible.

    In addition, because NASA expects the solar maximum to continue into 2025, aurora hunters should have many more opportunities to catch the Northern Lights.

    Eric Lagatta covers the latest and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]

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