Northern Lights Could Be Visible This Week In MD: When To Watch

MARYLAND — The northern lights may be visible in Maryland on Monday night, as a minor geomagnetic storm could make conditions right for a display of green and purple colors in the night sky. A much greater chance of seeing the lights in the sky exists Thursday, according to forecasters.

The Geophysical Institute in Alaska forecasts the Kp index — the measure of auroral strength — will be about 3 on a 9-point scale Monday.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute also predicts aurora activity will be high(+) Thursday, July 13, in parts of Canada and the United States.

The best chances to see the northern lights are in far north U.S. locations such as Alaska, northern Michigan and Maine, but they could be visible as low as Maryland, according to a geomagnetic storm watch issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Space Weather Prediction Center.

For the best chances, get away from city lights and be patient. The best times to see auroras are between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., according to the Space Weather Prediction Center. A waning crescent moon at less than 50 percent illumination will help aurora hunters on Thursday.

These are top sky-watching spots in Maryland, according to Space Tourism Guide:

• Assateague Island
• Bear Branch Recreation Park
• City of Greenbelt Observatory
• Gaithersburg Observatory Park
• Green Ridge State Forest
• Kent Island

The Kp index will be around 6 on a 9-point scale on Thursday, according to the Geophysical Institute. In general, the chances of seeing the northern lights are best with a Kp index of at least 5.

States that could see the northern lights include Alaska, Washington, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maryland, Massachusetts and Indiana.

• Related: Understanding Kp Indices And More Tips For Aurora Hunters

The collision of electrons from space and atoms and molecules in Earth’s atmosphere “produce light much like how electrons flowing through gas in a neon light collide with neon and other gasses to produce different colored light bulbs,” NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center said on its website.

Aurora forecasts are notoriously tricky and can quickly change. The Space Weather Prediction Center, which updates its aurora forecasts every 30 minutes, is expected to release its own forecast as July 13 gets closer.

This is a particularly active time for the solar storms that produce the northern lights. We’re approaching the expected 2025 peak — called “solar maximum” — of an 11-year solar cycle in which the sun’s magnetic fields flip polarity.

• Related: Why Aurora Displays Are Becoming More Frequent

Until 2025, the auroral oval — the area on Earth where the lights are visible — will continue to widen, increasing the chances that the northern lights will dance at lower altitudes.

Last April, people who don’t often see the auroras were surprised by jaw-dropping northern lights displays in more than two dozen states, some as far south as Florida.

• Related: July MD Skywatching: 1st Of 4 Supermoons; Perseids, More Meteors Fly