What is a geomagnetic storm? Aurora Borealis time, where can it be seen, and everything to know about the colorful lights

Due to a magnetic storm, Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, will be visible to more than half a million people in the northern part of the United States of America. This means that more than half the country will be able to witness the phenomenon.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center, the possibility of seeing the Aurora Borealis display comes soon after the sun reportedly had a solar flare erupt on Friday, April 21, 2023, that was directed towards the Earth. As a result of the solar flare, at least 30 states will have the opportunity to see the Northern Lights in the early mornings of April 24.

They will stretch from Washington to Maine, and almost as far south as Kansas and Alabama, according to Space Weather Watch.

EarthSky mentioned:

"All in all, you can anticipate good conditions for auroral displays."

Meanwhile, The Space Watch reported:

"Aurora viewing is likely in the United States tonight as Earth is impacted by a strong solar storm. The most favorable cloud conditions look to be over the Midwest, Plains and parts of the Great Lakes and less favorable conditions in the Northeast and Northwest."

As such, people all around the world are hoping that the weather conditions will remain clear from 10 pm to 2 am when the lights would be most visible, away from the city's pollution.

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A geomagnetic storm is the reason for the Aurora Borealis lights display in half the United States

A geomagnetic storm is a major disturbance of the Earth's magnetosphere that occurs when there is a vivid exchange of energy from the solar wind to the space environment surrounding our planet. These storms result from variations in the solar wind that produce huge changes in currents, plasmas, and fields in the magnetosphere.

These disturbances in solar wind conditions are effective at enhancing geomagnetic storms that can sustain for several hours at a stretch. Their condition is effective for transferring energy from the solar wind to the Earth's magnetosphere.

These storms create beautiful aurora borealis lights but have negative consequences as well. They could possibly disrupt the navigation systems of Earth, such as the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and create geomagnetic induced currents (GICs) in the power grid and pipelines.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reportedly registered a level four out of five on the impact scale of the geomagnetic storm on the upcoming Sunday night. This high level of magnetic scale indicates that the Aurora Borealis could be visible as far south as the city of Alabama if weather permits it to.

Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) is described by the NOAA as a "billion tons of plasma ejected from the sun." It allegedly erupted towards Earth on Friday. Explaining the connection between the Coronal Mass Ejection and the geomagnetic storms, the NOAA states:

"When a CME arrives at Earth, it can produce some of the biggest geomagnetic storms and thus, some of the brightest and most active auroras that extend furthest toward the equator."

There are several states where it will be possible to see the northern lights on Sunday (April 23, 2023) night, including but not limited to:

• Washington
• Oregon
• Idaho
• Montana
• Wyoming
• Utah
• Colorado
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• Nebraska
• Kansas
• Minnesota
• Iowa
• Missouri
• Wisconsin
• Illinois
• Michigan
• Indiana
• Ohio
• Kentucky
• West Virginia
• Pennsylvania
• New Jersey
• New York
• Massachusetts
• Connecticut
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• New Hampshire
• Maine

Space Weather Watch added:

"Chances for aurora as far south as California, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Alabama, etc if the storms hold in intensity headed into this evening, otherwise, a good portion of the U.S. should still have a chance to see something,"

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration alleges that the best time to view the Aurora Borealis is between 10 pm and 2 am local time. Officials advised people who want to see the lights to stray away from the city lights. Geomagnetic activity is most visible when there is least cloud cover and no light pollution from various artificial sources.

Even in areas where the colorful aurora lights won't be directly overhead, people might still be able to see the geomagnetic activity by looking towards the north from a high-altitude spot. Anyone can see the aurora borealis as far as 600 miles north of their current location as long as the view is not obstructed in any way whatsoever.

According to the Met Office, the United Kingdom is also due to see the Aurora Borealis lights on April 23 and April 24. It claims that Scotland and the northern part of England will be able to see the northern lights around 7 pm on Sunday until 5 am on Monday.