There’s a chance the northern lights could return to Canada and parts of the northern U.S. Wednesday night, which would be the latest throughout the continental U.S. following May’s historic solar geomagnetic storm—though they won’t be intense as past displays.
Though the northern lights are typically best viewed between September and April—during seasonal equinoxes—a mid-May geomagnetic storm brought the auroras throughout the continental U.S., in what scientists dubbed a “potentially historic event.”
A second geomagnetic storm occurred in early June, bringing the lights back to Canada and parts of the continental U.S.
The lights may be visible throughout parts of North America tonight, but would likely die down in intensity Thursday, according to the NOAA’s Space Prediction Center.
The Space Prediction Center forecasts the lights may be visible throughout most of Canada and the eastern portion of Alaska tonight, similar to predictions from researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute. The Geophysical Institute also predicts the viewline may extend south towards the northern parts of North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota and Michigan.
The best time to view the spectacle is between 10 p.m. and 2.a.m., according to the Space Weather Prediction Center. Geomagnetic activity increases during this time frame, which makes the lights look stronger.
May’s solar geomagnetic storm prompted a warning from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which was the first of its kind in nearly two decades.
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