Northern Lights May Be Visible in Several States the Same Night as the Lunar Eclipse

There's a chance you could spot the aurora on a special night for stargazers.

This past weekend, the sun unleashed a series of solar flares "unlike anything we've seen in years," according to SpaceWeather.com. It's good news for anyone keeping an eye out for the northern lights.  

There were "multiple overlapping" coronal mass ejections (CMEs)—a "large expulsion of plasma and magnetic field" from the sun—launched into space, heading toward Earth. Forecasts from the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) project that those CMEs will arrive at Earth late on May 25 into the morning of May 26, the same morning as a total lunar eclipse. The SWPC has issued a G1 geomagnetic storm watch with the possibility of a G2 for the morning of May 26. Those would be minor and moderate geomagnetic storms, according to the SWPC's scale. One consequence of that arrival is an increased chance for the northern lights to appear, as noted in a report from Forbes.

northern lights forecast
Image courtesy of SWPC/NOAA

The above map from the SWPC and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) indicates that there's a possibility you might spot the aurora in the northern reaches of the US. "High latitude sky watchers... might have trouble seeing anything with the midnight sun starting to overpower the night skies, but locations near the US-Canadian border and, of course, our friends down under might be able to see some nice aurora in the days ahead," SpaceWeatherLive.com says. 

The SWPC map shows that northern parts of Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, might get a view of the aurora. There aren't any guarantees with the northern lights, but the night of May 25 into the morning of May 26 is a good time to keep an eye out for their arrival. 

Additionally, this is taking place at the same time as a total lunar eclipse. That "super blood moon eclipse" will be visible during the early morning hours of May 26 in the western US. You can find details about where and when the eclipse will be visible using this tool from Time and Date

If you're going aurora hunting, you need to get away from light pollution, which might be tougher than some people realize. An SWPC representative previously told Thrillist, "You need very clear skies, a good view of the northern horizon (no trees, buildings, or hills), and it needs to be dark."  

You'll also need to be patient. Keep your eyes on the sky, and hope that the stars align in your favor. 

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Dustin Nelson is a Senior Staff Writer at Thrillist. Follow Dustin Nelson on Twitter.