The Aurora Borealis, commonly known as the Northern Lights, are seen in March in the sky above Kiruna, Sweden. The area is widely regarded as one of the best places in the world to see the phenomenon, which occurs when energized particles from the sun hit the Earth's upper atmosphere. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

How Oklahomans could see the Aurora Borealis

When you’ve ever needed to see the Northern Lights however cannot make the journey north, tonight could also be your fortunate evening.

The Nationwide Climate Service’s House Climate Prediction Middle has issued a “G4 (Extreme) Geomagnetic Watch” for Could 11, which has Northern Lights-hopefuls excited throughout the US.

This is what the forecast means, together with when the aurora will likely be seen and what your finest possibilities of seeing it in Oklahoma are.

Aurora forecast: Will the Northern Lights be seen tonight?

The House Climate Prediction Middle stated a number of coronal mass ejections from the solar, or “massive expulsions of plasma and magnetic discipline from the Solar’s corona,” are anticipated to reach at Earth late on Could 10 or early Could 11.

Auroras might be seen over many of the northern half of the US, and the prediction middle stated the Northern Lights might be seen as far south as Alabama or northern-California.

Easy methods to see the Northern Lights in Oklahoma

A serious requirement for viewing the Northern Lights is evident skies, and the Nationwide Climate Service in Norman stated Oklahoma cloud cowl needs to be restricted the evening of Could 10.

Whereas Oklahomans possible will not have the ability to view the lights overhead, the workplace stated auroras might be seen alongside the northern horizon, particularly with a digicam.

The most effective possibilities of seeing auroras are late at evening, between 10 p.m. and a couple of a.m. native time, away from metropolis lights.

Why will the Northern Lights be seen thus far south?

With the phenomenon’s title indicating its important viewing space is the north, why may we see them as far south as Oklahoma?

The Aurora Borealis has in truth been showing extra regularly all through the US, like in 2023 when the lights had been seen so far as Arkansas within the South and Arizona within the West.

This improve in widespread sightings is due to the “photo voltaic most,” which is predicted to peak this yr, in response to USA As we speak.

“There have been a rise in aurora seen usually on Earth,” Shannon Schmoll, the director of the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State College instructed USA TODAY final yr. “The solar has been extra energetic, leading to extra photo voltaic storms that trigger photo voltaic flares and coronal mass ejections (CME).”

What causes the Northern Lights?

When the CME’s attain Earth, they react with the magnetic discipline and create a show generally known as the Northern Lights.

Contributing: Doyle Rice, USA As we speak