Northern lights could be visible in the US on Monday: here

*Attached video: Aurora Borealis in Finnish night sky during violent geomagnetic storm

(NEXSTAR) – Thanks to recent solar activity, residents of more than a dozen US states will have a chance to see the Northern Lights on Sunday.

A coronal mass ejection and a small solar flare occurred Friday night, according to the agency. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction CenterIn addition to sparking geomagnetic storm monitoring through Monday, solar activity means the Northern Lights will be visible as far south as Nebraska and Iowa.

According to NOAA, a coronal mass ejection (CME) is an explosion of plasma and magnetic material from the Sun that could reach Earth in just 15 to 18 hours. I will explainA late CME like the one observed on Friday could take days to affect us.

Both solar flares and CMEs (which can occur at the same time) can occur, Affects navigation, communications and radio signals On Earth, the CME can create a spectacular show in the night sky.according to NASA, the CME can generate currents in the Earth’s magnetic field, sending particles to the north and south poles. Auroras occur when these particles interact with oxygen and nitrogen.

“When we look at the bright auroras, we are looking at a billion individual collisions. [between the particles and atoms and molecules]Illuminates Earth’s Magnetic Field Lines” NASA write.

Can you see the Northern Lights?

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center predict Sunday night will see quiet to moderate aurora borealis in many northern states.

Canada and Alaska are predicted to see the best northern lights, but Washington, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota may also see aurora borealis on Sunday night. As well as parts of Idaho, Wisconsin, Oregon, Wyoming, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Fox 8 meteorologist Scott Sabol says the skies will be clear enough tonight, but it’s unclear if Ohio will see the Northern Lights.

Best viewing conditions are between 10pm and 2am local time. according to Office of the National Weather Service in Bismarck, North Dakota. You’ll also want to stay away from city lights that can drown out the Northern Lights.

Only the northernmost states of Washington, Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota, where aurora viewing is predicted to be low, are expected to see lower viewership Monday night.

This is the latest aurora seen in the northern United States this year. This is all thanks to her 11-year-long activity of the Sun flipping its magnetic poles.

“We’re in the middle of that transition right now, and we’re getting close to it. When we hit the middle, we call it the solar maximum. It’s the time when there are the most sunspots and the most solar flares and eruptions. That’s right,” Bill Murtah, program coordinator for NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, told Nexstar’s. WROC.

CMEs are common in this process and contribute to the recent auroras. Murtaugh explains that the stronger these his CMEs are, the further south the aurora will be visible.

“If you missed the activity weeks, last week, weeks ago, know that we’re headed for a solar maximum, which will occur sometime between 2024 and 2025. So basically stay tuned, there’s a lot more to come,” said Murtaugh.