The Northern Lights May Be Visible Around The U.S. Tonight And You Won’t Want To Miss It

Guess what, America? The Northern Lights may be visible from parts of the U.S. tonight, so we’re in for a treat! A rare geomagnetic storm is set to cause high levels of Aurora activity, meaning that the colorful display may be seen in states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Washington, and others.

Claudia Regina/Flickr

The science is quite complex, but here are the basics: The Northern Lights (also called the Aurora Borealis) are caused by electrons from solar winds and solar flares. They are attracted to the North Pole by the higher concentration of magnetic fields found there. They mix with gases in the atmosphere, causing the gases to glow.

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Flickr/Gunnar Hildonen

It means a colorful show! The Aurora Borealis is most often pink or green (though you may see yellow, blue, violet, and, rarely, orange or white). The lights appear in many forms, from patches or scattered clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains and shooting rays.

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Image/Kristen Koennemannn

Look out at the sky on Saturday night and cross your fingers for clear skies! (March 23rd).

Of course, we won’t leave you guessing… You can get updated Aurora reports every 30 minutes from the NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION by clicking here.