Northern Lights displays are possible on Thursday, March 20, according to a NASA model, partly because of that day’s vernal equinox.
It comes in the wake of last week’s “blood moon” total lunar eclipse on March 13-14, being photographed with the Northern Lights from Alaska, as well as from across North and South America and even from the moon, as a total solar eclipse, by the “Blue Ghost” spacecraft.
Northern Lights: When And Where
The prediction for March 20, reported by Spaceweather.com, comes after a coronal mass ejection — a surge of charged particles from the sun — is forecast to “graze” Earth’s magnetic field. While that would not typically mean a meaningful display of the aurora, the CME is predicted to arrive at almost the exact time of the equinox, which creates a favorable alignment.
A G1-strength geomagnetic storm — a major disturbance of Earth’s magnetosphere, but the weakest kind ‚ is possible. According to NOAA, G1 storms can be seen from Washington, northern Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine. See NOAA’s aurora view line for details.
Northern Lights And Equinox Explained
Earth’s northward equinox — when the sun crosses the celestial equator — will occur at 09:00 UTC (4:00 a.m. EDT) on March 20. It will mean an equal day and night for every location on Earth and marks the start of astronomical spring in the Northern Hemisphere and astronomical autumn (fall) in the Southern Hemisphere.
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Equinox, which happens because Earth rotates on an axis tilted by 23.5 degrees, puts Earth’s axis side-on to the sun. That means its magnetic field is aligned in such a way that the solar wind has more of an effect on its magnetic field, but it also sees the magnetic fields of Earth and the solar wind briefly aligned according to the Russell-McPherron Effect. More intense displays of the aurora are statistically more likely in the days and weeks on and close to the equinox.
Why The Northern Lights Are So Frequent This Year
Solar activity is at a 23-year high. In October, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel announced that the sun had reached its “solar maximum” phase, the peak of its 11-year solar cycle. With a recent slight dip in solar activity, a second peak is expected in 2025.
What Causes The Northern Lights
The solar wind is a stream of charged particles from the sun interacting with Earth’s magnetic field. They’re super-charged by a coronal mass ejection that travels to Earth over a few days.
Aurora is typically seen in polar regions at around latitudes of 70 degrees north and south, but during extreme geomagnetic conditions — usually when CMEs arrive at Earth one after another, or in tandem — the auroral oval can bulge, with displays then seen as low as 25 degrees north and south of the equator.
Why The Northern Lights Are Only Visible At Night
You can potentially see the Northern Lights whenever it’s dark, even in late spring and summer when the hours of darkness are short. However, the aurora is always present in the upper atmosphere. They represent the ongoing connection between the sun and Earth; something would be seriously wrong if they ever switched off completely.
They wax and wane in intensity and, typically, become visible a few days after a lot of solar flares and coronal mass ejections on the surface of the sun. Seeing the Northern Lights is all and only about the right conditions, your location and how dark the sky is.
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Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.