Additional Coverage:
The sun is currently experiencing strong solar storms, which can create beautiful northern lights. These lights may be visible across the northern United States this weekend, but it’s not yet clear how intense they will be.
The sun’s magnetic field is at its peak, leading to more frequent solar storms and auroras. This week, the sun released two strong flares, including one that was the largest since 2017.
The aurora borealis, or northern lights, are caused by charged particles from the sun colliding with Earth’s atmosphere. These particles can produce faint auroras as far south as South Dakota, Iowa, and New York.
However, it’s important to note that the storms could still weaken or intensify over the weekend, making it difficult to predict the exact intensity of the aurora displays.