A geomagnetic storm that has been producing a dazzling light show, known as the Northern Lights or by its technical name aurora borealis, over much of the northern hemisphere recently is expected to continue until at least the early hours of May 15.
Forecasters say the phenomenon that was expected to end on Tuesday will linger at least one more day after more solar activity was observed.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center issued another geomagnetic storm watch on May 14, forecasting that the Sun will continue to bombard Earth with solar material.
The eruptions, known as coronal mass ejections, produce the infamous light show when ejected solar matter interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field.
The intensity of the lights are not expected to be as vivid and widespread as they were over the previous weekend, however, will be visible over much of North America including several northern states.
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Residents of Maine, Vermont, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho and Washington may be in for a treat if skies are clear and light pollution is at a minimum.
Best chances to view
People with the best chances of seeing the phenomena will be those further north and the closer one gets to the northern magnetic pole, the better chance there is to see them.
It is expected that the lights will be most active between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. and will be best viewed from hilltops and away from sources of light including cities.
The phenomena began last Friday when the Earth began to experience what experts called a “historic” geomagnetic storm, an event not seen in decades.
This event was caused by a massive sunspot known as Region 3664.
These storms are more common during the solar maximum, the moment when the Sun’s magnetic poles flip, which is known to be associated with increased sunspots and solar flares that can send solar material hurtling towards earth.
Forecasters predicted last year that the current cycle will peak sometime between January and October this year.
Potential negative impacts
Power and communication companies around the globe were bracing for potential negative impacts from the storm which, in the past, has knocked out power to large swaths of the population and disrupted communications.
For example, a massive solar storm in March 1989 was blamed for hours-long power grid failures in the Canadian province of Quebec and caused interference to the United States power grid.
Another geomagnetic storm in November, 1991 produced a light show that could be seen as far south as Texas.
On May 11, during the peak of the storm, Elon Musk, took to his social media platform X to give users an update on the storms impact on his satellite internet services, Starlink.
“Major geomagnetic solar storm happening right now. Biggest in a long time. Starlink satellites are under a lot of pressure, but holding up so far,” Musk posted.
Ahead of the storm, the NOAA warned operators of power plants, spacecraft in orbit and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to take precautions but added that regular people need not take action.
Rob Steenburgh, a scientist with NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center said that for “most people” on the planet, “they won’t have to do anything.”
While it appears as though Earth’s infrastructure has survived the historic storm with little to no damage, it did provide some stunning images.
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