The aurora borealis was visible from most of the US over the weekend—take a look.
Mother Nature gave us front seats to one of its most iconic show this past weekend , and we have to thank solar storm for that . As you might have get word ( or seen ! ) , the northern lights were seeable from nearly anywhere in the US over the weekend , and viewing audience as far to the south as Florida and Texas could witness the phenomenon .
This was n’t exactly breaking newsworthiness . Last workweek , NOAA ’s Space Weather Prediction Centerreleased an advisoryforecasting a " severe solar tempest " ( of G4 intensity ) following multiple solar flares and coronal mass ejections . Then , over the weekend , the Center releasedyet another alert , this sentence warning about both " grievous " ( G4 ) and " extreme " ( G5 ) geomagnetic storms , which were probable to pass on May 12 .
How are the northern lights and geomagnetic storms related?
And what does that have to do with the northern lights , you ask ? Well , in light , the result is everything . Sometimes , the sun give off large quantity of energy ( for representative , through a solar flare or a coronal mass exclusion ) . To make it very simple , when this happens , it create solar winds , the shockwave of which can interact with the Earth ’s magnetic field , which we call a geomagnetic tempest . The side product of such violent storm is , in fact , the northerly sparkle .
agree to the official NOAA scale , the stronger the storm , the more potential it is for us to see the aurora borealis further south than common , and that ’s how so many states fancy the aurora borealis over the weekend . Thanks to the severe and utmost saturation of last week ’s storm , the northerly lights were seeable in the US and many country across Europe and around the globe . We alsokind ofpredicted this massive storm back in January .
However , if you miss the show , there ’s no need to fret . Lucky for you , many lensman worldwide memorialize the minute and shared the photos on social spiritualist , and we cull our favorite ace to hype you up before the next big solar tempest . you may check them out below .
Elizabeth M. Ruggiero/iStock/Getty Images
How can I see the next aurora borealis over the US?
If you ’re attached to witness this gorgeous phenomenon in literal life , you’re able to always be on the lookout man for the next time Mother Nature decide to bless the Earth with it .
Unfortunately , while you ca n’t on the button predict it too far in progression , the NOAA can surely help . If you head to its web site , you’re able to geta concluded snapshot of the current precondition , which can aid you picture out whether a self-coloured geomagnetic storm is coming . to boot , the NOAA has adedicated Aurora Forecast page , which you could check to see the forecasted consideration of the Nox as well as those of the night after .
You should supervise the NOAA website ’s alert section for significant result like this preceding weekend . If a big storm is coming , and therefore northern lights , NOAA will likely give a warning in improvement , which can facilitate you plan your stargazing session .
Ready to go stargazing?
Here are allthe in force stargazing eventsthat you may get out and see this calendar month or you could stick around in andstream the northerly lightsfrom home . If you ’re just getting depart , check out ourguide to astronomy for beginnersoreasy stargazing road trips from big US cities .
