- A geomagnetic storm will make the northern lights visible in the northern U.S. late New Year’s Eve.
- The best view of the lights will be where there is little light pollution, specifically between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local times.
- The current solar cycle which makes the northern lights visible more often in the U.S should continue until July 2025.
This year, fireworks won’t be the only thing lighting up the sky for New Year’s Eve. Some areas of the U.S. should be able to see the northern lights.
According to USA Today, a geomagnetic storm will allow people in the northern part of the U.S. to see the colored streaks of light in the sky late Tuesday night.
Another storm should make the lights visible in the U.S. once again after the sun sets on New Year’s Day, according to The New York Times.
Where will the northern lights be visible?
According to The New York Times, the northern lights will be visible this week in parts of:
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Vermont
- New Hampshire
- Washington
- North Dakota
- Montana
- Maine
- South Dakota
- Idaho
- Minnesota
It could also be possible to get a glimpse of the aurora borealis in northern Oregon, the lower Midwest and central New England.
The best way to see the colorful lights is to go to an area away from city lights with little light pollution, per The New York Times. The best time to view the lights will be between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time, per USA Today.
Because the moon is reaching its new moon phase, it won’t prevent people from seeing the colors in the sky, per The New York Times.
The arrival of the lights can be tracked on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center website.
What are the northern lights?
“The northern lights, or aurora borealis, are flashes of color that appear in the night sky. They’re usually seen in the northernmost regions of the planet,” according to The New York Times.
Before the lights can be seen, coronal mass ejections, explosions on the surface of the sun, cause streams of energy to be shot into space. According to The New York Times, some of the energy particles come into Earth’s orbit to cause a disturbance in the Earth’s magnetic field.
This disturbance is known as a geomagnetic storm, and it causes the northern lights to be visible in the sky.
Why have the northern lights been visible in U.S. more often lately?
This is not the first time the aurora borealis has made an appearance in the U.S. this year.
Solar activity made the lights visible to Americans in May and once again in October, per The New York Times. The recent increase in solar and geomagnetic activity is due to the current solar cycle, which is Solar Cycle 25.
“Roughly every 11 years, the sun goes through a solar cycle, during which its magnetic poles flip, increasing solar activity and producing strong solar flares. Solar Cycle 25 is the 25th recorded occurrence of this cycle,” as previously reported by the Deseret News.
This solar cycle should last until July 2025, potentially allowing the northern lights to be displayed in the U.S. again before the cycle ends, according to the NOAA.