A burst of energy from the sun will hit Earth on Thanksgiving, creating beautiful Northern Lights in the night sky.
Most of Washington, Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine are positioned for potential auroras.
And the northern regions of Idaho, Wyoming, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire can also see these phenomena.
Americans should step outside between 10 PM ET and 1 AM ET to capture the best views, ideally far away from bright city lights.
Taking a photo with a smartphone camera can also reveal hints of the aurora that are not visible to the naked eye.
Meanwhile, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned that a geomagnetic storm is expected on Thursday could affect radios, satellites and GPS, which will linger until Black Friday.
‘There can be fluctuations in the electricity grid. Power systems at high latitudes may experience stress alerts,” NOAA shared.
‘Irregularities in satellite orientation can occur; Greater resistance on satellites in low Earth orbit is possible.’
Americans are expected to see the beautiful Northern Lights on Thanksgiving after the sun released a burst of energy on Sunday
Pale auroras could be seen in many northern states Thursday and Friday, but they could be short-lived and seeing them will depend on how intense the solar storms become, NOAA meteorologist Mike Bettwy said.
Both the Northern Lights and the geomagnetic storm are the result of a coronal mass ejection (CEM).
Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation resulting from the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots, and are the largest explosive events in the solar system.
THIS IS PAST TENSE, ARE WE REFERRING TO ONE THAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED? After the solar flare erupted, a second explosion of high-energy particles and solar plasma formed a direct line to Earth – that was the CME.
Northern Lights – also known as the Northern Lights – are a natural light show that occurs when charged particles from the sun interact with the Earth’s magnetic field.
Most of Washington, Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine are positioned for potential auroras. And the northern regions of Idaho, Wyoming, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire can also see the colored lights
Aurora is most commonly seen in the auroral zone – an area within 2,500 kilometers of the North Pole. Normally the lights can only be seen in areas such as Scandinavia, Alaska and Iceland.
But geomagnetic storms can make them appear further south.
Late on Sunday evening, the sun unleashed a powerful stream of plasma that heads towards Earth.
NOAA’s warnings show the worst geomagnetic storm is expected on Saturday.
The storm is a major disruption of the Earth’s magnetic field, caused by a burst of energy from the sun.
“A G1 (Minor) watch has been issued for November 28 and a G2 (Moderate) watch has been issued for November 29 due to the arrival of a CME associated with a filament eruption that disappeared from the Sun late on November 25,” NOAA shared. .
The sun is currently in the maximum phase of its eleven-year cycle, making solar bursts and northern lights more common.
The sun has unleashed 20 solar flares in the past 24 hours, one of which caused power outages over the Indian Ocean.
The active period is expected to last at least another year, although scientists won’t know when solar activity peaked until months later, according to NASA.
Although geomagnetic storms can cause radio interference, experts do not expect any major communications disruptions from this week’s solar storm.