Get ready for a potentially spectacular aurora show.
Some lucky stargazers in the United States may catch a glimpse of the northern lights after the sun unleashed its second-largest solar flare in seven years on Tuesday.
This meteorological fireworks are caused by the following interactions: Earth's magnetic field and supercharged particles From the Sun — It will reportedly be visible across the northern United States on Friday and Saturday, October 4th. Forbes reported.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the aurora will be “best visible” on Friday night in Alaska and Canada.
However, the polar rainbow is expected to overlap parts of the continental United States, including Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
The North is usually visible from more northern locations, but it can also be seen in non-standard areas after the sun erupted with two flares, including an X-class solar flare “the strongest of its kind” .
The supercharged sunburst from sunspot AR3842 recorded a magnification of 7.1x, making it the second most powerful in the past seven years, behind May's monster X8.7 magnitude.
This is also a coronal mass ejection (CME), in which plasma and magnetic particles are ejected from the sun's surface, reportedly causing a magnetic storm.
NOAA initially expected the storm to subside between Thursday and Saturday, but now says it will continue into Sunday, Forbes reported.
It has also been upgraded to the powerful G3 Storm, which is the third most powerful. After G4 and G5 — Can impact navigation systems, power grids, and even satellite communications.
As a result, stronger geomagnetic storms generally mean brighter arctic events, like the luminescent display that followed May's Category 5 geomagnetic event.
NOAA currently predicts tonight's Kp Index to be 5 on a scale of 0 to 9. This means that as the light gets brighter, the activity of the aurora borealis (a kaleidoscope of colors shimmering across the sky) increases.
The weather agency said it would be “very fun to watch” if the weather is good and stargazers are in the “right location”.
Experts advise aurora viewers to catch a glimpse of the lights between 10pm and 2am, when the aurora is most active.
Observers are also advised to stay as close to the polar regions as possible, avoid city lights and other pollution, and choose hilltops or other vantage points.
