Aurora Borealis Display Possible Again: When, Where To See Them (Map)

ACROSS AMERICA — As solar activity ramps up to a peak, people as far south as northern Iowa have a chance to see the aurora borealis Thursday and Friday, triggered by a solar flare Sunday.

The best chances to see the northern lights are in far north U.S. locations such as Alaska, northern Michigan and Maine, but they could be dip down to northern Iowa and other places where the colorful lights are rare, according to a geomagnetic storm watch issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Space Weather Prediction Center.

Forecasting exactly when and where the auroras can be seen isn’t an exact science. For the best chances, head to a dark sky and be patient. The best times to see the northern lights is usually between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time, according to the Space Weather Center.

On Sunday, the sun let off a burst of energy known as a partial coronal mass ejection of plasma and magnetic field lines from its corona, the outermost part of its atmosphere.

The Space Weather Prediction Center, which rates geomagnetic storms on a scale of 1-5, with a 5 considered extreme, said the geomagnetic field in this event could reach G3, or strong intensity, Thursday, with a Kp index of 5 on the 9-point scale measuring auroral strength. By Friday, the Kp index will drop to 3, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center.

In general, the chances of seeing the lights are best with a Kp index of at least 5. The map below from the Space Weather Prediction Center shows where the auroras may be seen over the next couple of nights.

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The predicted northern lights show isn’t expected to be as dramatic as one in April, when people as far south as Alabama reported seeing auroras, but the ethereal displays of green, red, purple and yellow curtains of light are becoming more common. We’re about halfway through an 11-year cycle in which the sun’s magnetic field flips polarity. The peak, or “solar maximum,” is expected next year, and the increase in solar storms is expected to continue through 2028.

• Read More: Why Aurora Borealis Displays Are More Likely | Northern Lights Hunting Tips

The sun has negative and positive polarity, just like Earth. During the reversal of polarity — that is, negative becomes positive, and positive becomes negative. That causes more sunspots and lots of space weather.

“This increased activity from the sun is consistent with the current state and timing of the solar cycle,” NOAA space scientist Rob Steenburgh said in a recent news release. “Energetic events like solar flares and coronal mass ejections have become more frequent in the past year, and especially in the past month, and we expect activity to continue ramping up to the peak next year.”

Editor's note: This story was updated Thursday to reflect the Space Weather Prediction Center's latest aurora borealis forecast.