Solar Storm: Northern Lights May Be Visible In U.S. Wednesday

The Aurora Borealis may be visible in the northern U.S. on Wednesday thanks to a geomagnetic storm, a phenomenon that occurs when there is a "very efficient exchange of energy from the solar wind into the space environment surrounding Earth."

The Space Weather Prediction Center, which is a part of NOAA, has issued a geomagnetic storm watch for March 14-15, though the agency says the predicted storm will be minor in nature and classified as a G1 storm. Along with possibility of a northern lights viewing, the SWPC says there could be weak power grid fluctuations and minor impacts on satellite operations.

"The arrival of a co-rotating interaction region (CIR), followed by a recurrent, negative polarity coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS) is expected to cause the escalated geomagnetic responses," the SWPC writes in its advisory.

Space.com breaks down just how this phenomenon takes place. According to the website, the storm originated in a region on the sun that allows high-speed particles to stream out into space. These charged particles, that will reach the Earth on Wednesday, will be funneled by the Earth's magnetic fields to the polar regions, Space.com writes. Finally, the glow comes when this solar wind interacts with particles in the Earth's atmosphere. (You can read more about the geomagnetic storm on Space.com)

According to the SWPC, the Aurora may be visible from high latitude states, like Maine and Michigan. The SWPC also says to keep monitoring their website for the latest forecast.

You can also read more about geomagnetic storms via NOAA here.

Image via NOAA