The Northern Lights May Be Seen In 9 Countries This Week—Here’s How To See Them

Those in Washington, Idaho, Montana, and other states can view the aurora borealis.

There is a chance that the northern lights will be visible again across the United States on the evening of Wednesday, November 6. This could be one of many opportunities for stargazers to see the bright colors this year.

The Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, are caused by magnetic storms caused by solar activity, such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections (CME), according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Energetic particles from these magnetic storms are carried away from the sun by the solar wind. When these particles enter our atmosphere, they collide with oxygen and nitrogen particles. As the air particles dissipate the energy gained during the collision, each atom glows a different color.

The November 6 display is a low chance forecast, but stargazers may still catch glimpses of the northern lights. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center (NOAA) initially predicted that this event would be a G1 geomagnetic storm (minor). Now, it is possible that the CME will only graze the Earth’s magnetosphere, meaning that the aurora borealis may not be as strong and visible as previous events.

If the northern lights are visible, those in Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Maine can see them anywhere between 7 and 10 pm EST.

Since space weather can change quickly, those interested in viewing the northern lights should check NOAA’s aurora line of sight and its 30-minute forecast for updates. If the show is under, solar flares and CMEs may become more common until 2026, meaning there will likely be more opportunities to view the northern lights soon.