Some regions of the United States could witness the northern lights throughout the week. Find out in which states they could be seen.
Residents of certain regions of the United States could witness one of the most impressive astronomical phenomena there is: the northern lights.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center, there is a good chance that the northern lights will be visible on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 23 and 24, in several northern states.
This will be possible because last Sunday a coronal mass ejection, popularly known as a “solar flare”, was observed, which are the cause of the northern lights, as they send the columns of solar material towards the Earth.
These states will be able to see the northern lights this week in the U.S.
According to NOAA, the northern lights will be visible in several northern states, from New York to Idaho; this includes regions such as Montana, Minnesota, Michigan and Maine. At this time, auroras are expected to be visible Tuesday night through Wednesday morning; however, this visibility could extend into Wednesday night.
Auroras are usually seen as bright curtains of green light, although, depending on their composition and density, the lights can take on pink, purple, blue, and even reddish hues.
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What are the aurora borealis?
As explained by National Geographic, the northern lights are the result of the interaction between gases in the Earth’s atmosphere and the solar wind. The phenomenon occurs exactly when ions shoot out from the Sun in all directions.