2024 and 2025 Northern lights latest update This weekend, Hoosiers may view the northern lights, albeit it depends on where in Indiana you live.

On Friday and Saturday nights, Hoosiers who look up at the sky may be lucky enough to see the northern lights. Due to heightened solar activity, space weather specialists said on Friday that the aurora borealis may be moving farther south across significant parts of the United States.

The Space Weather Prediction Center, a federal forecasting organization, stated that in past solar activity events of this size, the “aurora has been seen as low as Alabama and northern California.” According to experts, it’s possible to see the aurora on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night.

What is known about Indiana’s prospects of witnessing this celestial event is as follows.

https://x.com/NWSSWPC/status/1788641891908534279

 

2024 and 2025 Northern lights latest update

Viewing of the Northern Lights improves following the rare G4 storm watch upgrade.

“Astronomer Tony Phillips has upgraded this weekend’s geomagnetic storm watch from G2 (Moderate) to G4 (Severe)” on SpaceWeather.com. “Why? due to the massive sunspot AR3664’s continuous launching of coronal mass ejections at Earth. There are currently at least four storm clouds approaching us as a result of today’s X2.2 solar flare, according to Phillips.

“Severe” storm watches are infrequently issued by the Space Weather Prediction Center. An alert of this kind wasn’t sent out until January 2005. The center stated, “Watches at this level are very rare.”

What are the possibilities of witnessing the northern lights this weekend in Central Indiana?

 

However, space weather is erratic, much like an Indiana spring. Scientists that predict celestial events like the aurora rely on observations of the sun, which is 93 million miles away, unlike those who forecast terrestrial weather.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s early Friday morning forecast does not bode well for Hoosiers residing in Central and Southern Indiana’s chances of seeing the northern lights, at least not directly overhead. According to NOAA, the southern limit of the aurora’s potential appearance ends around halfway across the state.

Why are the lights visible farther southward? The solar maximum is to blame.

The aurora borealis, often known as the northern lights, have been visible over the United States more often lately. For instance, in April 2023, viewers in Arizona and Arkansas in the South and West, respectively, witnessed an incredible aurora show.

Why, then, are aurora sightings increasing? And is this anticipated to go on? If you’re a fan of the aurora, you’re in luck because the “solar maximum,” which is predicted to peak this year, may bring the aurora closer to you more frequently during the next years.

 

What distinguishes a coronal mass ejection from a solar flare? 2024 and 2025 Northern lights latest update

 

Solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are two types of enormous energy bursts that happen on the sun, although they travel at different rates.

According to NASA, solar flares are among the solar system’s most potent explosions. Solar flare particles can reach Earth in minutes by traveling at the speed of light. Large clouds of solar plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun are known as CMEs, and NASA says they can take up to three days to reach Earth.

Advice for Seeing the Northern Lights

 

“Go outside at night,” NOAA instructed. “And get away from city lights.”

Usually, the best aurora occurs between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time, or within an hour or two of midnight. These hours lengthen as the geomagnetic activity intensity rises and approaches evening and dawn.

Evening and morning auroras are possible, but they are often less active and less visually pleasing, according to NOAA.