Northern lights illuminate the sky across 22 states tonight — here’s who gets to see the show

Northern Lights to Illuminate Sky Across 22 States

A recent powerful sunburst is set to create a spectacular celestial display tonight, visible across much of the United States, including New York and other locations.

Solar Flare and Coronal Mass Ejection Details

On November 5, a significant M7.4 solar flare erupted from the sun, launching a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). This CME, a massive release of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun’s outer layer, traveled at speeds between 2.5 and 3.1 million miles per hour.

Expected Arrival and Geomagnetic Impact

The CME is expected to reach Earth late on November 6 or early November 7, potentially causing strong G3 geomagnetic storm conditions. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has issued watches with moderate to high confidence in timing and moderate confidence in the storm's strength.

“Watches have been issued for these times with moderate to high confidence in timing, and moderate confidence in magnitude,” NOAA writes.

Impact on Northern and Southern Lights

If the CME arrives as forecasted, it may intensify the northern lights (aurora borealis) and southern lights (aurora australis), making them visible far beyond the poles, reaching the US Midwest and other areas.

“A whole train of big #solarstorms are on their way, along with some smaller storms hitting now, and some fast solar wind!” said space weather physicist Tamitha Skov on X. “It is an #aurora photographer’s dream starting now and lasting at least through the weekend.”

Summary

This solar event promises a rare and vivid aurora display across 22 states, offering a unique opportunity for stargazers and photographers to witness nature’s radiant spectacle.

Would you like the summary to be more technical or more poetic?

more

New York Post New York Post — 2025-11-06

More News