A particularly active solar storm means 17 American states have a strong chance to see the aurora in the night sky this week.
A solar storm forecast to take place on Thursday is set to bring the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, into the sky of 17 states as it dips much farther south than is typical.from the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks expects that 17 states will see aurora activity on Thursday: Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Indiana, Maine, and Maryland.
The activity is expected to be a Kp 5 on Wednesday and increase to a Kp 6 by Thursday. These numbers are based on the K-index, which is used to characterize the magnitude of geomagnetic storms. For reference, a Kp of 0 to 2 indicates dim, low activity. A Kp of 3 to 5 means it will become brighter and there will be more auroral activity such as visible motion and formations. At a level of 6 or 7, the aurora is quite bright and active. The highest the Kp scale goes is 9.
The last time an aurora dipped down low enough to provide a visual treat to northern states was in late April. At that time,While impressive, that wasn’t even the most impressive solar storm in 2023. On March 23, the activity was so abundant that the northern lights were, providing photographers with a stunning night sky that is exceptionally rare for the region.
For anyone who missed those last two events, this week’s storm is another opportunity to get the shot — there is no telling how many more times it will happen.
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