#Which states can see the Northern Lights tonight?

In a rare atmospheric shift, Earth’s seasonal aurora borealis, otherwise known as the Northern Lights, will be visible to some northern states in the contiguous United States.

What are the Northern Lights?

The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) has forecast a trend of geomagnetic storms, also called solar storms, to continue through Tuesday, September 29. These celestial weather patterns, like a shockwave of particles from the sun, bombard Earth’s magnetic shield. The interplay between those solar particles with Earth’s atoms and molecules of oxygen, nitrogen and other elements causes a dazzling dance of lights in green, indigo and violet.

Where are Northern Lights visible?

It’s usually only residents of the Arctic Circle, such as Finland, Norway, Sweden, and parts of Canada, as well as Alaska, who typically enjoy the celestial phenomenon. But thanks to the uncommon strength of the current solar storms, the SWPC has predicted visibility “on the horizon” as far south as the American Midwest, northern Idaho and Iowa, and most of Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

How to see the Northern Lights in the US

Only some states with regions that hug the border of Canada, such as Aroostook County, Maine, and the Great Lakes peninsulas can hope to see the lights directly overhead. Otherwise, skywatchers will need a long, unobstructed field of vision and low light pollution to be able to spot the whirling ribbons of light in the distance — so city dwellers of NYC, Detroit and Chicago are probably out of luck, despite technically making the cut. Even those in the woods will have a hard time, unless they can find themselves on high ground, above trees and hills.

Last night, one photographer on Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula captured a spectacular green glow over Lake Superior.

Unfortunately, there’s no guaranteeing a show, even for those who fall within the visibility perimeter, but experts advise star gazers to look up between 8 p.m. tonight and 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning, and especially between 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., when geomagnetic activity is expected to peak for the night.

More bad news for neighbors of the “Great White North”: There’s possible rain and thunder in the forecast for the Great Lakes region as well as New England — meaning that the best days for viewing the Northern Lights this year may already be behind us.