Northern lights, auroras seen as far south as Texas and Florida
The powerful geomagnetic storm hit Earth’s atmosphere causing brilliant northern lights across multiple states.
Thanks to major solar activity arriving to earth on Dec. 9, the northern lights could dazzle skies in more than a dozen states.
A coronal mass ejection — large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the sun — is expected to reach earth around mid-day on Dec. 9, likely causing increased geomagnetic activity, according to an alert from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
According to two of NOAA’s geomagnetic storm scales, the event could cause a more active aurora on Dec. 9.
On one, the K-index scale — which indicates how far away from the poles the northern lights could be visible — NOAA is predicting a 5 out of 9, which indicates a brighter aurora. On another, the agency ranks the event a G1 — a minor event.
The northern lights project colorful lights in the night sky as a result of an interaction between the sun’s plasma and Earth’s magnetic field. It is a natural phenomenon and officially known as the aurora borealis, according to the National Weather Service.
What time can you see the northern lights tonight?
The northern lights are not visible during daylight hours. The best time to see the aurora is usually within an hour or two of midnight, but it can be seen anytime in the darkness, according to NOAA.
Which states will see the northern lights tonight?
Parts of about 15 states are partially or fully within NOAA’s forecasted “view line” for the northern lights on Dec. 9. The view line indicates the southernmost point where the aurora could be seen on the northern horizon.
However, the forecast is only a prediction.
“The aurora does not need to be directly overhead but can be observed from as much as 1000 km away when the aurora is bright and if conditions are right,” NOAA’s website says.
For example, during an strong event on Nov. 11, sky gazers reported seeing the auroras in southern states like Texas, Florida, Colorado — which were all beyond the forecasted view line for that night.
The following states could catch a glimpse of the aurora, according to NOAA’s forecasted view line:
- Alaska
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Maine
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New York
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Vermont
- Wyoming
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
