The Northern Lights will be visible in the U.S. tonight. Here’s how to view it.

The Northern Lights put on a show for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, providing a magnificent light show in several U.S. states. Here’s how to see the Northern Lights this week.

According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), this week’s northern lights will be visible on Jan. 19 and will persist into the next day in some areas. Either way, it’s best to view the aurora on Monday if you can, as they will be significantly less visible later in the week. Those at higher latitudes will have a better chance of seeing the aurora, although the notable strength of this week’s display means the northern lights could be visible as far down as Alabama and northern California.

This wide range of visibility is because Monday’s northern lights were caused by the largest solar radiation storm in more than 20 years, resulting in a particularly strong aurora. In response, the SWPC issued a severe alert for geomagnetic storm G4, warning that it could cause widespread problems with the power grid and that GPS navigation and high-frequency radio could also be unusable for hours. Infrastructure operators and authorities have been informed of the expected disruptions.

Fortunately, the SWPC states that there is little the general public can do in response to the geomagnetic storm. Just stay informed and, weather permitting, look for an aurora.

Credit: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center

How to Get the Best View of the Northern Lights

The easiest way to see the Northern Lights is to simply go outside at night and look up. The aurora can be visible over 600 miles away in good conditions, so it’s worth checking even if you’re slightly outside the expected visibility zone. However, if you want to give yourself the best possible conditions for viewing an aurora, there are a few factors to keep in mind.

According to the SWPC, the best time to view the Northern Lights is between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. as the level of geomagnetic activity increases during this time. It is also the darkest time of night, providing the strongest contrast with the brilliant Northern Lights to make them more visible.

Choosing a viewing area with as little light pollution as possible will also enhance your experience. A Dark Sky certified location close to the Canada-US border would be an optimal choice, as all have been assessed and found to have minimal light pollution. If you can’t get there, just try to reduce the light pollution where you are.

What causes the Northern Lights?

Although auroras occur in Earth’s atmosphere, they are actually the result of solar activity.

When a solar flare or coronal mass ejection occurs on the Sun’s surface, large amounts of plasma and magnetic field are expelled from the outermost layer of its atmosphere. This creates a high-speed solar wind, or solar storm, that can travel through space to reach Earth. Depending on the nature of solar activity, the journey to Earth can take a few minutes or a few days.

Once the solar storm reaches Earth, most of it is reflected back into space by Earth’s magnetic field. However, not everything is refused. Some particles of charged ions enter the magnetic field and then move towards the polar regions of the Earth, where said field is weakest.

The charged ions then collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms, creating chemical reactions that emit light: an aurora. Both the Northern and Southern Lights are created in the same way. The only difference is that the Northern Lights are found in the Northern Hemisphere, while the Southern Lights are found in the Southern Hemisphere.