Northern Lights: Auroras forecast for Thanksgiving — On Thanksgiving in Great Falls there’s a good chance to see the northern lights with the Space Weather Prediction Center forecasting geomagnetic storms that could make the Aurora Borealis visible further south than usual.
NOAA indicated that a Kp index of around 5 to 6 is expected for the night of November 28, 2024, suggesting that the lights might be visible in Great Falls on Thanksgiving and on Black Friday.
The best viewing times are likely to start around 8PM Mountain and last through the evening and into the early morning hours. Then on Friday evening with best viewing starting again at 8PM until early Saturday morning.
Clear or partly cloudy skies are forecast for both nights, enhancing the likelihood of visibility. Temps are forecast to be in the low teens so be sure to bundle up.
Getting out and away from city lights might provide best viewing experience.
A G1 (Minor) watch has been issued for 28 Nov and a G2 (Moderate) watch was issued for 29 Nov due to the arrival of a CME associated with a filament eruption that took off the Sun late on 25 Nov. pic.twitter.com/pg1yihQdQy
— NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (@NWSSWPC) November 26, 2024
The solar storm could pose a minimal threat to things like satellites, GPS signals and power grids, but it may also provide some additional Thanksgiving entertainment when football and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade have long ended.
Because of the way the solar particles interact with Earth’s magnetosphere, the powerful eruption should make the vibrant northern lights visible to a wider swath of the Northern Hemisphere than usual.
What are the Northern Lights:
The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, are caused by charged particles from the sun interacting with Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere.
Solar Wind:
The sun emits a stream of charged particles known as solar wind.
Magnetic Field Interaction:
When these particles reach Earth, they are guided by the planet’s magnetic field towards the poles.
Atmospheric Collision:
As these particles collide with oxygen and nitrogen in Earth’s atmosphere, they transfer energy which excites the atmospheric atoms.
Light Emission:
When the atoms return to their normal state, they release the absorbed energy as light.
Oxygen produces green and red lights, while nitrogen can produce blue or purplish-red auroras.
Green auroras are the most common, resulting from oxygen about 60-150 miles above Earth.
Red auroras occur at higher altitudes where oxygen is less dense.
Blue or purplish-red lights are from nitrogen.
The intensity and visibility of the Northern Lights depend on solar activity, particularly during solar storms or coronal mass ejections, which can significantly increase the number of particles reaching Earth.
