Northern Lights May Light Up Parts of North America Tonight

Tonight, families in parts of North America may have a rare chance to spot the aurora borealis. The reason for this spectacular event is a solar flare that burst on the sun sometime on Thursday. 

In doing so, it sent a huge cloud of charged particles spiraling toward the Earth. Tonight, those charged particles may enter the Earth’s atmosphere, producing a glorious display of pink, green, and red lights throughout the night sky. 

What Causes These Bursts of Light?

Essentially, what we may witness is a geomagnetic storm, or a large exchange of energy from solar winds into the environment in space around the Earth. A strong surge of wind like this is called a coronal mass ejection. Essentially, it disrupts the Earth’s magnetic field, generating electric currents that create variations in the field. 

Along with solar winds, charged particles from the sun may also interact with our magnetic field, located at the north and south poles. When these particles hit the field, their currents can create charges that produce enough energy to create bursts of light. That’s what people who have the opportunity to view this phenomenon will be witnessing in real time.