How to Spot the Northern Lights This Weekend

Much of the northern U.S. is going to be in for a treat late Friday, as the northern lights are expected to make a rare appearance. Are you in the path of this spectacle of Mother Nature? And will the weather cooperate for your viewing? Here is everything that you need to know.

Northern Lights Could Shine This Weekend

The weekend is going to get started with a bang over the night skies of the northern U.S. thanks to a show by the aurora borealis. The unique celestial show is predicted to show off for millions of Americans if you know where to look.

Astronomers are predicting this showing based on the events of the recent days when the sun sent large clouds of charged particles hurtling toward the Earth. Known in astronomical circles as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), these particles are going to travel into the Earth's magnetic fields and launch the aurora borealis across portions of the Northern Hemisphere while simultaneously igniting the aurora australis across the Southern Hemisphere.

The red and green colors that mark the aurora shine when the particles coming from the sun interact with the atmospheric gasses from Earth. The peak of the solar maximum this year will translate to a greater chance of seeing these lights with more regularity.