The northern lights may be visible across Northern Canada from Tuesday to Thursday night.
A forecast from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows the aurora borealis will likely be visible across most of Canada’s northern regions, with a lower chance of seeing the aurora borealis in the southern parts of the provinces.
The prediction shows that the aurora borealis will likely be visible across 18 U.S. states, as well – Alaska, northeastern Montana, northern North Dakota and northern Minnesota with the highest probability of seeing it.
It may also be visible in Washington, northern Idaho, northern Wisconsin and upper Michigan, Oregon, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.
The three-day forecast as shown by the NOAA shows a Kp index – a measurement that indicates how active the aurora borealis could be by geomagnetic activity, with nine being the highest – of almost four tonight, reaching upwards to six tomorrow and just above four on Thursday.
Best time to see the northern lights
The NOAA says the northern lights are best viewed after daylight hours when it is dark, between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time.
“The aurora does not need to be directly overhead but can be observed from as much as 1,000 km away when the aurora is bright and if conditions are right,” the NOAA notes.
The NOAA also says to go towards the magnetic poles if you can when attempting to see the northern lights. The north magnetic pole is approximately 400 km from the geographic pole and is in the islands of northeast Canada, the NOAA says.
“Given the right vantage point, say for example on top of a hill in the northern hemisphere with an unobstructed view toward the north, a person can see aurora even when it is 1,000 km (600 miles) further north,” the NOAA notes.
“It should be noted that if you are in the right place under the aurora, you can see very nice auroral displays even with low geomagnetic activity.”
This week’s geomagnetic storms are a result of eruptions that left the sun on Sunday, April 13, according to the NOAA.
