Northern lights may not be visible to these US States

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) has predicted the formation of Aurora Borealis or Northern lights over the United States.

This came after the prediction of a geomagnetic storm on Thursday and Friday after Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), observed on Monday.

While, this has created an excitement among the locals to experience the rare event, it is predicted that few of them might not be able to watch the colourful skies as a widespread cloud cover is expected in the country.

As per the predictions of the Met department, a coast-to-coast winter storm is anticipated to come along with the cloud cover, bringing snow and rain to the country.

The Northern lights sighting will be affected in Maine and Northern Michigan due to the expected cloud cover. However, the best sightings of these spectacular lights can be observed in Washington, Alaska and other high-altitude regions.

Although, this might be disappointing for few residents, there are some chances that they can still witness the Aurora Borealis/Northern lights.

HOW ARE NORTHERN LIGHTS FORMED?

Northern lights are formed due to magnetic storms which are often triggered by a change in solar activity.

The sun releases charged particles including electrons and protons into space, which when come in contact with the magnetic field lines in earth’s atmosphere launches towards the earth’s surface.

These particles when collide with the Earth’s upper atmosphere, heats up the atoms, which ultimately leads them to glow in different colours.

This process is known as ‘excitation,’ and atoms of different gases creates ribbons of different colours which seem to float in the atmosphere.

WHY NORTHERN LIGHTS ONLY APPEAR NEAR THE POLAR REGIONS?

Aurora Borealis only appear near the poles as atoms often tend to move towards areas with weak magnetic fields. As poles have the weakest magnetic atmosphere, the atoms are mostly deflected to these regions as they hit the earth surface.

Whereas, these lights become most visible during the winter because the skies tend to be darker than summers, enhancing visibility.