TOPEKA ( KSNT ) – Kansans looking to the night sky over the next few days may catch a rare glimpse of the Northern Lights this month.
The Space Weather Prediction Center ( SWPC ), managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ), issued a severe alert Wednesday, Oct. 9 for a geomagnetic storm in space. The SWPC assigned the storm watch a rank of G4 , placing it just below the most severe rank of G5, meaning people on Earth have an increased chance to see the Northern Lights for Oct. 10-11.
Solar System Ambassador with NASA, Brenda Culbertson, told 27 News no specific time exists yet for when people might see the lights. However, general advice she gives is to seek out a dark place away from other sources of light and after the sun has gone down. Nights without the moon also increase your chances of seeing aurora activity.
“As with any weather, including space weather, it is difficult to predict precisely, but we do expect an impact from another strong Coronal Mass Ejection ( CME ) that was emitted because of a very strong solar flare from Sunspot AR3848 early this morning,” Culbertson said. “Expectations are high that more aurora will be visible from mid latitudes, and maybe low latitudes on Earth.”