Heads Up, Michigan: Northern Lights Might Light Up the Skies as June Begins

DETROIT – If you are itching for a good sky show and happen to be in Michigan, this Sunday might be the day you should keep your eyes open to the sky. A severe magnetic storm of solar origins may play its part and give residents a chance to spot the irresistible northern lights colors in the sky.

This natural light spectacle is a result of a massive solar eruption that took place on Friday evening and was followed by a G4-level geomagnetic storm alert which was issued by the Space Weather Prediction Center. The phenomenon that occurred in the southern U.S. skies not long ago may have been quite a bit more powerful but also this one is capable of giving us the most fascinating northern lights, and those, living in the Midwest, are especially lucky to see that. The storm should last these nights and everyone living in the northern U.S. has the opportunity to see it, even if the northern light’s most intense colors might not be as visible in these parts as in the northern regions of the continent.

To make sure you don’t miss anything, the first thing to do is to find a place far from the street lights and enter darker, more remote areas. The chance of experiencing the beauty of the auroras depends on how far north you go. If the weather remains stable, some parts of Michigan might look as though they have a fire on the horizon.

Could A Bigger One Be On The Way?

It’s being suggested that it may become even stronger to be upgraded to a G5, and the visibility could get a double boost, but these are all suppositions. In any case, the aurora hunters’ plans are being put in place as it looks like it’s going to be a bountiful night ahead.

The Physics that Forms the Aurora Light

These periods of extreme geomagnetic disturbance are triggered by solar flares and mass ejections in the corona – huge energy and plasma discharges from the sun. They are on the earth’s way they find our magnetic field and create the beautiful auroras.

This whole situation is a result of the 11-year cycle of the sun’s activity during which the Earth is at the maximum point of this cycle. This means that more storms of this kind may appear with increasing frequencies and may give us more opportunities to see northern lights in the newly established places.

So if you have never witnessed the breathtaking view of the northern lights for yourself, then this weekend can be the time of your life – without any need to go to Alaska and Iceland.