SKY WATCHING -- The solar activity that put on a light show in the northern skies of the Inland Northwest on Aug. 26 (above) are likely to put on a repeat performance for late night viewers from Seattle through Montana tonight and Saturday.
The Aurora borealis, or northern lights, are more typically seen in northwest Canada, Alaska and Scandinavia, but sun flares this week are expected to affect the magnetic poles, bringing the lights south, according to the NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
Predicting the exact timing is difficult, but “the chances are really good” for Friday and Saturday nights, said Bob Rutledge of the Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo.
The best viewing areas are far away from city lights.
The best time to view the lights is usually around midnight, but the weather, brightness of the moon and dusk and dawn times are also factors in determining the ideal time, according to the Geophysical Institute, which explains:
The sun produces mass ejections which interact with the Earth’s magnetic field, and when electric currents begin to flow in the upper atmosphere, the result is an Aurora borealis. The sun flares disrupt the magnetic field, providing conditions for the lights to be seen elsewhere.
