The Northern Lights May Illuminate the Night Sky This Week—Here's How to See Them

Aurora chasers may be in for a treat this weekend as an incoming geomagnetic storm will likely bring northern lights displays to the upper Midwest soon, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

On January 21, a coronal mass ejection (CME) erupted from the sun and is expected to make contact with Earth soon. The CME (a large expulsion of plasma and magnetic field released from the sun’s corona) could cause G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm conditions from January 24 to January 25.

According to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the northern lights are created by magnetic storms triggered by solar activity, such as CMEs. Energetic charged particles from these events are carried from the sun by solar winds and eventually enter Earth's atmosphere. The particles collide with molecules in our atmosphere. As the particles shed the energy acquired during the collision, each one glows a different color.

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center predicts that the Kp index will peak at 5.33 (on a 0 to 9 scale) over the next 48 hours. The Kp number is a numeric scale for geomagnetic activity and is computed by averaging the magnetic activity globally every three hours, according to the Geophysical Institute. For Kp in the 3 to 5 range, the auroras will become brighter and there will be more auroral activity.

While the northern lights can be unpredictable, Space.com reports that this geomagnetic storm may cause sightings of the auroras in northern Michigan and Maine.