Northern Lights should bloom in the middle of solar maximum: How to see auroras

In the coming months, the famous aurora borealis could be arriving in a sky near you. – if they haven’t already.

The sun and the intense magnetic activity it generates cause the aurora borealis, wax and wane in an 11-year solar cycle that is at its peak.
Since NASA expects the solar maximum to continue until 2025, aurora chasers should have more opportunities to catch the northern lights.

Aurora haters tune in to see the famous aurora borealis you don’t have to worry about traveling all the way to Alaska, the state known for being among the best places in North America to witness shades of green and red.

In the coming months, the famous celestial display, better known as the aurora borealis, could reach a the sky near you – if he hasn’t already. Now that the sun has has officially reached solar maximumaccording to NASA, sky watchers around the world should expect auroras to cover the night sky more often in the Northern Hemisphere.

So how does the sun influence a phenomenon best seen when it is nowhere to be found? It all has to do with solar flares, geomagnetic storms, and some pretty interesting interactions in Earth’s atmosphere.

Here’s everything you need to know about the northern lights and how to see them now that the sun has reached solar maximum.

What is the solar maximum?

The sun and the intense magnetic activity it generates cause the aurora borealis, wax and wane over an 11-year solar cycle. The peak of activity – the solar maximum – occurs when the sun’s north and south magnetic poles reverse.

When this happens, the sun “transitions from being calm to an active and stormy state,” NASA said in an October press release.

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration track sunspots—the source of solar flares—to predict the progress of a solar cycle and the solar activity it fuels.

Now that the agencies have determined that the sun has peaked Solar cycle 25sunspots located in regions of intense magnetic activity should increase. When that magnetic activity is released, it creates intense bursts of radiation that lead to solar flares – considered by NASA to be our solar system. the biggest explosive events.

Solar flares emit radiation, mostly in the form of ultraviolet light and X-rays, which can hurtle toward Earth at the speed of light. Some of these eruptions may be accompanied by coronal mass ejections, or clouds of plasma and charged particles, that emerge from the sun’s outermost atmosphere, the corona.

These ejections can collide with Earth’s magnetosphere, the barrier that protects humanity from the harshest impacts of space weather, to produce geomagnetic storms.

Several geomagnetic storms can cause the aurora borealis

This may sound scary and because increased risk for things like broken satellite signalsradio communications, internet and electrical networks, could be.

But the increased potential for several geomagnetic storms it can also mean more impressive aurora borealis displays.

In early October, Americans from the northern US and even as far south as Alabama had the chance to witness the striking rays, spirals and flickers of the northern lights, which were amplified when a solar coronal mass ejection of plasma clouds and charged particles drove a geomagnetic storm towards Earth. The storm was so powerful that it prompted NOAA issues a rare G4 geomagnetic storm watch for the second time this year.

The first came in May, when a strong geomagnetic storm was responsible for some reports of power grid irregularities and interference with GPS signals – even agricultural machinery. On the bright side, it was also unleashed spectacular views of the northern lights in parts of the country where the auroras are not often visible.

That special one storm watch it was the first NOAA released in 19 years for a geomagnetic storm classified as G4 – just one level short of being the strongest possible solar storm. In the midst of solar activity, the sun actually emitted an explosive blast of radiation which became the largest solar flare detected since 2017, according to NOAA.

The phenomenon, which has done more recent appearance in the US it was also visible again in August during the Perseids, considered among astronomers to be the best meteor shower of the year.

Additionally, since NASA anticipates the solar maximum to continue through 2025, aurora chasers should have more opportunities to catch the northern lights.

What causes auroras?

Auroras are a display of natural light in Earth’s sky which are famously best seen in the high latitude regions of the northern and southern hemispheres.

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

As the auroras form, the Earth’s magnetic field redirects the particles toward the poles in a process that produces a stunning display of rays, spirals, and flickers that have fascinated humans for millennia. Whether the shades of green, red, blue and even pink dance across the sky is due to the altitude at which the collisions occur, as well as the composition and density of the atmosphere at the time.

Where and when can the northern lights be seen?

Solar storms send particles streaming from the sun that are trapped by Earth’s magnetic field, causing colored auroras to form because they interact with atmospheric gas molecules. In the coming months, the resulting brilliant auroras could be quite a sight to behold – if you look at the right place and time.

Auroras are best seen around the magnetic poles in the northern and southern hemispheres, in places like Europe, Asia and North America. In the US, Alaska is well known for having the best viewing opportunities for the Northern Lights.

Even though conditions are favorable for more imminent aurora displays, experts have long struggled to be precise forecast exactly when and where the phenomenon will ever occur. Even the best predictions can only be made accurately a few days or even hours in advance.

NOAA, however, is standing its ground an aurora dashboard which should help sky watchers track the phenomenon.

And if it looks like the aurora borealis will flare up near you, it’s advised to move away from cities and travel to dark places away from light pollution. If the weather is clear, the best aurora is usually visible within an hour or two after midnightaccording to NOAA.

Contribute: Max HauptmannUSA TODAY

A version of this story was last published on October 1.

Eric Lagatta covers breaking news and trends for USA TODAY. Contact him at [email protected].