(NEXSTAR) — Last year provided skywatchers with multiple spectacular shows in the sky. total solar eclipse,Return of “Devil's Comet”” and multiple nights colored by the aurora borealis.
If you miss seeing the aurora borealis, don't worry. 2025 could be another great year for Aurora.
We are in the middle of solar cycle 25. This is an active 11-year cycle in which the Sun reverses its poles. All activity causes solar storms, especially solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which throw plasma and magnetic material into space.
When that material collides with Earth's magnetic field, the particles flow toward the north and south poles and interact with gases in the atmosphere. Their interaction produces excess energy in the form of bursts of light, which are visible to our eyes as auroras.
When periodic activity reaches a peak known as a solar maximum, there will be more sunspots that can lead to more activity that can cause auroras on Earth. I saw some of it recently.
In October, a massive X9 solar flare was detected. The X-class flare is the most powerful (there are three others: B-class, then C-class, then M-class). This led to warnings that a strong G3 magnetic storm would occur on Earth. Other solar activity provided opportunities to see the Northern Lights around Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve. The latter is “severe magnetic storm warning” from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center on New Year’s Day.
The strength of this activity, known as geomagnetic storms, influences how far south the aurora reaches in the United States. Geomagnetic storms are measured in five stages. In G1, the aurora borealis is typically seen north of Alaska, Canada, and the Lower 48 Rivers. In G5, the northern lights can reach Florida and Texas.
One such storm in May 2024 brought aurora borealis as far south as Hawaii.
mark mischresearchers at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center previously told Nexstar that solar maximum could last about two years or more. Miesch believed that as of June 2024, we were already in this period, which he called “space weather's version of hurricane season.”
talk to NPRLisa Upton, chief scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, said we are beginning the decline phase of solar cycle 25, which could last until the end of the decade. .
Stronger solar storms are expected to occur throughout 2025 and possibly into 2026, increasing the chances of seeing the aurora borealis.
While SWPC and scientists around the world are keeping an eye on the Sun and trying to predict what activity, if any, will ultimately affect us, it is unclear exactly when a CME will hit Earth. Knowing can be difficult. Once the CME is within 1 million miles of Earth, the task becomes easier, but the lead time drops to about 15 to 45 minutes.
If current predictions are correct, at least some Americans will soon have the chance to see the northern lights again if the solar maximum continues over the next few months. Stay tuned to see if they make it to Florida and Hawaii again.
