Chance of Aurora Borealis Tonight

and Aurora Australis

Due to solar activity directed our way, their is a good chance that lower latitude cities across the globe may get to see the Aurora this evening, baring weather and light pollution.

It should peak sometime in the hours around your local midnight.

Current Aurora Map Northern Hemisphere

Current Aurora Map Southern Hemisphere

If check the map near midnight and if it's red over you, then you should be able to see it.

Aurora Borealis, shinin' down in Dallas? Can you picture that?

Well keep an eye out for it.

Is that a predicted pattern or the current pattern? Cuz all I see is a bunch of polar bears, eskimos, and Siberians having a viewing of the Aurora.

Those maps are updated every hour or two as the satellite measuring it passes overhead. The effected area moves as the Earth rotates. The arrow on the map points toward the sun at the time the readings were taken.

Here's the National Geographic article that caught my eye and current satellite readings of the particle flux and magnetic field fluctuation. You can see the change in the graphs as the CME starts to hit us.

Cool! Hopefully the clouds here in Cleveland will clear up by tonight!

theres a reason Aurora Borealis is also called the Northern Lights.
i used to look at them every morning on my walk to school.

I take it you grew up in Canada or Alaska. For us in the lower 48 in the US, unless we live along the Canadian border, and even then, the Aurora is a rarity. Tonight is no exception, just a bit better chance.

The estimated Kp right now is a 6. You can use these maps to see if that's enough for where you live.

North America
Eurasia

Sadly for me, or par for the course when something interesting is happening in space, it's clouding over.

6 is just about right for my location. BUT it's looking like a hella big storm tonight.

That's basically what this entire summer has been...humid and stormy. One would think I'm living in the South given that for the most part, the air has been nice and chewy rather than breathable since May.

Of course, you realize this means the Sun is exploding.

Was wondering when that was going to happen.

<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison

1am and it looks like northern Minnesota and bits of NoDak will get it, but that appears to be it.

I went out and checked at around actual Midnight, and again at around 1:30 AM, which would be solar Midnight, given the DST offset and the offset for living way out on the Western edge of the time zone, but we got nothing here. It was probably faint up in the "fingertips" of Michigan, and a bit better chance in the Upper Peninsula.

It has happened way down here in the "thumb" at least once in living memory, since my Dad regales me of seeing it back when he was a dairy farmer here.

Now at 7:00 UT (3am EDT, 12am PDT) the Geomagnetic Kp is down to 5 so maybe the UP of Michigan, northern Minnesota and northern North Dakota may be able to see it in the lower 48. The NOAA Space Weather Center no longer lists a geomagnetic storm occuring (was a 2 on a scale of 5 earlier this evening).

Parts of Europe got to see it. Here is a picture from southern Denmark Denmark. Likely Scotland also got caught a bit of the show if the weather was good.

Superintendent Chalmers: "Yes, I should be— Good lord, what is happening in there?"
Skinner: "Aurora Borealis?"
Superintendent Chalmers: "Aurora Borealis? At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?"
Skinner: "Yes."
Superintendent Chalmers: "May I see it?"
Skinner: "No"

Several years ago the Aurora Borealis made it all the way down to PA for some reason for a couple of nights. The sky was a beautiful shade of crimson, and was very cool.