WASHINGTON — The northern lights could make a stunning return to U.S. skies on Friday night, giving stargazers another chance to spot the colorful nighttime display.
Forecasters at the Space Weather Prediction Center issued a watch on Wednesday for a possible moderate geomagnetic storm triggered by an eruption of solar material.
Each eruption can contain billions of tons of solar plasma. As particles hit the Earth they have the potential to generate northern lights, gracing watchers with ethereal curtains of multicolored light usually only seen in the far north.
The effects are slated to reach Earth late Friday into early Saturday.
Where to see northern lights on Friday?
The forecast shared by the SWPC shows that the auroras could appear in the northern part of the U.S. on Friday, May 31 into Saturday, June 1. This would include northern and upper Midwest states from New York to Idaho.
The northern lights should appear as a faint greenish glow which may appear to dance as it gets more active. Occasionally, other colors such as pink or red, will also be visible.
A few weeks ago, severe solar storms pummeled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places.
The SWPC categorized Friday's possible storm as a G2 level, or moderate. In comparison, the storms earlier this month were G5, the most severe level of geomagnetic storms.
The flares seem to be associated with a sunspot that’s 16 times the diameter of Earth, NOAA said. It is all part of the solar activity ramping up as the sun approaches the peak of its 11-year cycle.
