The Northern Lights will be on full display in 17 different states this weekend, as the aerial phenomenon will venture farther south than usual on Thursday.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center, the northern lights will be best visible from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. local time.
States that will have the lights on display include Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Indiana, Maine, and Maryland, according to the University of Alaska at Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute.
Depending on where you are, some cities will have a view of the lights overhead, and others will be able to spot them on the horizon.
The Northern Lights are a result of atoms and molecules in Earth’s atmosphere clashing with a solar flare from the sun that occur during solar storms, resulting in the iconic glow in the sky.
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center program coordinator Bill Murtagh shared with the Associated Press during April’s solar storm that the further north you go, the better the show gets.
The curvature of the Earth results in the show being less visible the further south sky gazers are, Murtagh shared.
According to NOAA, the upcoming solar storm is part of an 11-year solar cycle that began in 2019. Experts expect it to peak in 2024, with several vibrant light shows being visible in the night sky.
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