(Nexstar) – Sky Gazers in several U.S. states will be treated to colorful glimpses of the Northern Lights as we head into the weekend thanks to recent geomagnetic storms.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Prediction Center is predicting the arrival of energy from a storm that can appear in our skies in vivid hues of purple, green, blue, and pink. Midwest.
States most likely to see the northern lights on Friday or Saturday night, which NOAA expects to be the strongest, include Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana and North Dakota. Although unlikely, viewers in South Dakota, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine may also see the northern lights.
What causes the aurora borealis?
The sun sends more than heat and light to Earth – it sends energy and charged particles known as the solar wind. But sometimes that solar wind turns into a storm. The Sun’s outer atmosphere occasionally “burns” huge bursts of energy called coronal mass ejections. According to NOAA, they produce solar storms, also known as geomagnetic storms.
Earth’s magnetic field protects us from much of it, but particles can travel down the magnetic field lines along the north and south poles into the Earth’s atmosphere.
When particles interact with gases in the atmosphere, they can produce blue and violet light from nitrogen and green and red light from oxygen.
If you’re hoping to catch a glimpse of a celestial phenomenon, experts recommend staying far away from light pollution, NOAA advises.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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