The northern lights may be visible across Canada tonight
This storm won’t be as strong as the one in May, which was classified as G4 and produced strong aurora activity across Canada.
The skies across Canada may shine bright tonight, as predictions show there’s a good chance of viewing the aurora borealis in some parts of the country.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting moderate aurora activity across Canada and some parts of the US late Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning.
The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Centre announced a “G2 Watch” for July 24 due to the arrival of a coronal mass ejection (CME), which is an eruption of solar material.
The NOAA uses a scale ranging from G1 (minor class storms) to G5 (the highest class storm).
The agency noted that when the CME arrives near Earth, a geomagnetic storm can result.
This storm won’t be as strong as the one in May, which was classified as G4 and produced strong aurora activity across Canada.
Space.com provided more information on the storm’s timing, noting that there is a “level of uncertainty” as to when the skies could light up.
The website referred to a post from space weather physicist Dr. Tamitha Skov, who stated the storm would be “fashionably late, due to slow solar wind traffic.”
According to the NOAA’s current predictions, there will be activity visible across Canada tonight, with a higher chance of viewing the lights in the north and central parts of the country.
“The brightness and location of the aurora is typically shown as a green oval centered on Earth’s magnetic pole. The green ovals turn red when the aurora is forecasted to be more intense,” stated the NOAA.
“Aurora can often be observed somewhere on Earth from just after sunset or just before sunrise.”
Of course, whether the aurora will be visible from your part of the country will depend on the weather forecast and clear skies.
