The northern lights, usually relegated to far-off wintry fantasy lands like Norway and Iceland, could grace the skies of up to 23 states in the U.S. between the late hours of Sunday, June 1, and the early morning of Monday, June 2. While Alaskans stand the best chance of catching this rare event, it could drift across the country’s northern reaches, from coast to coast.
In fact, around 2:40 a.m. Sunday, Space.com shared two photos of faint aurora activity as far south as San Diego, California, and New Mexico.
According to Space.com, our humble planet Earth was struck by a coronal mass ejection (CME) early Sunday morning, which is “wreaking havoc” on the planet’s magnetic field. While we won’t get into all the science here –– the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is much better suited to that task –– suffice to say that the effects could be otherworldly.
To maximize your viewing experience, it’s recommended that cosmic enthusiasts perch themselves on a northern-facing horizon, and as far away from pesky light pollution as humanly possible. Meanwhile, the best viewing window will be between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., though NOAA has a handy chart for that as well.
The chart is helpful. However, as NOAA points out, “While confidence is high for CME arrival at Earth, confidence is much lower for timing and magnitude.” Or, as Forbes puts it, “Be prepared to fail and be at peace with that before you go out. It may take multiple trips to finally see aurora, as displays can be unpredictable.”
According to Space.com, the 23 states that could see auroras tonight, in order of likelihood and intensity, go as follows:
- Alaska
- Montana
- North Dakota
- Minnesota
- Wisconsin
- Michigan
- South Dakota
- Vermont
- New Hampshire
- Maine
- Idaho
- Washington
- Oregon
- New York
- Massachusetts
- Connecticut
- Rhode Island
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- Wyoming
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Pennsylvania
