Thanks to a solar storm forecasted for Thursday, we just may be able to see quite the show that night.
This rare show is expected to give people in 17 American states (including us here in the great state of Washington) a chance to glimpse the Northern Lights, the colorful sky show that happens when solar wind hits the atmosphere.
Northern Lights, also known as aurora borealis, are most often seen in Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia, but an 11-year solar cycle that's expected to peak in 2024 is making the lights visible in places farther to the south.
The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks has forecast auroral activity on Thursday in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Indiana, Maine and Maryland.
Auroral activity also has been forecast for Canada, including Vancouver.
The best way to see the Northern Lights? Well, according to the experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center, they say to get away from city lights and that the best viewing times are between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time. Oh...and let's hope for clear skies because that will help too.
