Two Meteor Showers to Light Up the Dark Skies in October

Your October astronomy calendar is here. While the month got off to a slow start, the night skies are about to see some action with a supermoon rising between two major meteor showers. Here is a look at some of the top astronomy events to put on your calendar for the month of October.

Northern Lights Appearance?

The first weekend of October is showing signs that it may be a good time to catch the northern lights. A geomagnetic storm could ignite the Aurora Borealis over portions of the U.S. this weekend.

The possibility of a weekend light spectacular is connected to a massive solar flare on Thursday. This flare sent a mass of charged particles hurtling toward the Earth. Known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), this mass is expected to collide with the atmosphere and generate the displays of red, pink, and green colors.

Weather permitting, the best chance of spotting this spectacle of Mother Nature will be on Saturday night across the northern half of the country. The lights may dance as far south as Missouri, Colorado, Indiana, and Northern California.

The current forecast out of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) is predicting a strong to possibly severe geomagnetic storm. Experts are uncertain about when on Saturday the lights will be at their peak.

The best strategy is to gaze toward the northern horizon and look for a red or greenish glow. The lights appear higher in the sky the farther to the north that you are located. You can increase your chances of seeing this beauty by avoiding light pollution.

If you cannot see the aurora with the naked eye, you can try taking a picture with a smartphone to see if it shows up via this method. The lights are often captured better with this long-exposure photography method.