At times the night sky can provide a reminder that even there above is also here. During the two nights there is a small increase in space weather that should allow aurora viewing in some areas in the northern U.S., but visibility depends on the time of night, darkness and clear skies. It is predicted to be a small geomagnetic storm as a result of a coronal mass ejection that will be ejecting into a high-speed flow of solar wind through a coronal hole.
As the ingredients compress and stir the magnetic environment of the earth, the aurora oval may become brighter and bigger, bright enough to form tenuous arcs on the horizon to the north, and sometimes more serious structure when the conditions are favorable. Peak activity according to the projections by the NOAA occurs at a Kp index of approximately 4.67 during the late-evening window and this can be a reward to patient observers who can escape urban lights and simply look at local cloud cover.
1. Idaho
Location is of concern because Idaho is close to the southernmost border of the normal U.S. aurora views. The audience is typically enhancing its chances by going to a dark location where the northern horizon is clear and unblocked. The most workable window will coincide with the widely-recognized late-evening time period, when the geomagnetic activity tends to be the highest and the eyes are already accustomed to the dark environment.
2. Montana
Montana is often blessed with broad uncrowded northern horizons, an advantage since aurora does not necessarily have to be overhead to be observed. Due to the increased brightness, sometimes observers can even see structure over long distances, the NOAA guidelines suggest that in favorable conditions the aurora can be seen at a distance of up to 1000 km.
3. North Dakota
North Dakota is usually in the reasonable chance category of minor storm nights, in areas not within urban corridors. Direction is more important than the height of the vantage, as higher ground may minimize haze and foreground blockers. This intensity might not be noticeable by the naked eye and would present itself in the form of pale bands which become brighter when captured by a camera.
4. Minnesota
The counties in Minnesota on the North are generally well aligned with the lines in the activity of Kp 4. The most is usually visible to lakeshores, fields and where the tree cover is minimized to the north. Forecast-based planning also helps, but persistence is more effective than planning; the aurora is frequently a series of bursts, not a continuous glow.
5. Wisconsin
Wisconsin watchers often perform well in darker regions of the state in the North where the light pollution is reduced at a rapid pace. One of them is the auroral oval: focusing on the magnetic north, and not upon the geographic pole, which is one of the reasons that where to look changes each night. The shape and placement of the oval is said to be dynamic since the magnetic field of the earth and the solar wind vary.
6. Michigan (Upper Peninsula)
Latitude and access to dark sky is a common thing with the Upper Peninsula, which is potent in minor storms. Shorelines is particularly good as it opens the northern horizon and minimizes the amount of lighting around. The faint display can be checked by a phone or a camera in night-oriented functions to show subtle green arcs of cloud the eye is hard to distinguish.
7. Washington
During the second night, the viewline will most likely sink into the extent of touching some parts of Washington. The largest limitation is the weather in the region, the clear blue sky is necessary. Viewers wishing to have an ocean or mountain-facing view have the advantage of reconnoitering an area that faces less risk of cloudiness and has little immediate viewer glare off nearby roads and towns.
8. South Dakota
South Dakota is included to highlight how a minor change in geomagnetic activity can enlarge viewing geography. To a viewer close to the northern tier, a black place and a clear horizon can make the imaginary happen to become a reality. The surest method is still to match the time of observation with late evening and early night before fatigue and haze are taken into consideration.
9. Michigan (Lower Peninsula)
Section of Michigan not on the UP can also see aurora where the oval is extended, sometimes in the form of a low glow to the north. The effect may be faint and will be missed easily in the vicinity of city lights. NOAA 30 minutes aurora forecast can be used to enable the viewer to know when to go outside instead of waiting hours.
10. Maine
When there is a modest activity, Maine tends to show up in the forecasts of edge visibility. The heavy lifting is done by Northern exposure and darkness, particularly where there are no light domes up the coast. Since the aurora oval is charted in an overhead view, people will occasionally view the light much further south than the brightest centre of the oval would otherwise imply especially when the sky is clear and transparent to the north.
In all places, the same simple recipe remains, that is, a darkness, a clear sky and a view towards the north at an hour when the late-evening window in the NOAA weather forecasts brings light, that is, during the hours between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. In the case with photography, night settings of a smartphone can suffice when stabilized; the simplest tricks are to turn off the flash, stand still using a tripod or some rock-solid support, and allow the camera to collect light with longer exposures.
