On New Year's Eve, Locations in America Offer Chances to Witness the Aurora Borealis
On New Year's Eve, Locations in America Offer Chances to Witness the Aurora Borealis
It appears the Sun is in a celebratory mode: A severe geomagnetic storm alert is in effect for the forthcoming day, boosting the potential for auroras—a Northern Lights display—on New Year's Eve.
The National Weather Service's Space Weather Prediction Center issued a geomagnetic storm alert for December 31, spurred by a coronal mass ejection—an eruption on the Sun's surface—that occurred on December 29. The New Year's Eve storm alert is categorized as a G3, signifying a powerful storm. As per the SWPC, intense storms can confuse spacecraft and bring about complications with GPS and low-frequency radio navigation systems. Auroras are predicted "over numerous northern states and some of the lower Midwest to Oregon," as per the alert. However, even if you're situated farther south, space weather experts assert that contemporary smartphone camera technology can detect the lights, despite your eyes being unable to perceive them. Hence, even in regions expecting no aurora, attempting to photograph it is still worthwhile.
Auroras manifest when solar charged particles engage with Earth's magnetic field, leading to our planet's atmosphere gases to emit light. When solar activity escalates—i.e., when our main star hurls material into space in solar flares—it causes stunning auroras, at times surprisingly near the equator.
The Sun experiences an 11-year solar cycle, at the zenith of which space weather generally intensifies. There are approximately 200 G3 geomagnetic storms per solar cycle, and as of now, the Sun is near its apex, leading to multiple notable geomagnetic storms this year. In May, Earth experienced the strongest geomagnetic storm in 20 years, causing auroras to appear as far south as Florida and Texas.
The SWPC also declared two potent radio blackout incidents on Monday due to a pair of flares on the Sun. The consequences of the flares may involve signal loss in high-frequency communication bands on the dayside of Earth, the alert noted, though the accompanying coronal mass ejection was “established to not have an Earth-focused component.”
Parallel to the G3 storm alert is a G1 (or minor) storm alert in place for New Year's Day, with the possibility of that alert being upgraded to a G2 storm alert. Space weather researchers cannot pinpoint the exact degrees of geomagnetic disturbance until the Sun's charged particles are within 1 million miles (1.61 million kilometers) from Earth, or around 30-60 minutes before arrival at Earth. “Neither CME is expected to be a direct hit,” according to the storm alert notice, “which also complicates the forecast of intensity.”
Auroras are best observed under clear skies away from prominent light sources. In other words, if you're attempting to witness Earth's natural light extravaganza, it's best to do so away from the New Year's Eve artificial light displays. Wishing you all a splendid 2025 for another thrilling year under our explosive star.
The potential for future auroras is high due to the consistent solar activity, as revealed by the National Weather Service's Space Weather Prediction Center. As technology advances, even smartphones equipped with contemporary cameras can capture these celestial spectacles, making stargazing more accessible.