More aurora could come as the sun reaches solar maximum, NASA says

Stargazers, get ready! We may see an explosion of northern lights over the next year.

According to NASAThe sun is about to reach solar maximum, an active part of its cycle as it transitions between low and high activity.

Approximately every 11 years, at the peak of the cycle, the sun’s magnetic poles change and the sun goes from dormant to active and stormy, NASA said.

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During solar maximum, the sun will emit “bursts of light, energy, and solar radiation,” according to NASA.

Space weather can affect satellites and astronauts in space, as well as communications systems such as radio and GPS, and power grids on Earth.

According to USA TodayThe fact that this maximum period has already begun explains why the northern lights were visible in the lower 48 states this year. The outlet reported that the maximum could last another two years.

What are the northern lights?

The Sun sends more than heat and light to Earth; It sends out energy and charged particles known as the solar wind. But sometimes this solar wind turns into a storm. The Sun’s outer atmosphere sometimes “burps” huge bursts of energy called coronal mass ejections. They produce solar storms, also known as geomagnetic storms, according to NOAA.

The northern lights, or aurora borealis, illuminate the night sky above a camper’s tent in Middletown, California, north of San Francisco, on May 11, 2024. (Photo: JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo: JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

The Earth’s magnetic field protects us from most of it, but particles can enter the Earth’s atmosphere by traveling along magnetic field lines through the north and south poles.

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When particles interact with gases in our atmosphere, they can produce blue and violet light from nitrogen and green and red light from oxygen.

examples of northern lights

In May, the sun had its biggest flare in almost two decades. This came days after intense solar storms battered Earth and triggered aurorae in unusual places in the Northern Hemisphere.

How can you best see the northern lights?

NOAA advises those who want to see the northern lights to stay away from city lights.

The best viewing time is usually an hour or two before or after midnight, and the agency says the best times are around the spring and autumn equinoxes because of the way the solar wind interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field.