Northern lights Aurora Borealis locations, time for Wednesday night: Full list of places to view auroras tonight

Northern Lights Aurora are likely to be visible on November 12 and November 13. This means tonight people residing in Alabama to northern California will be able to visit Northern Lights Aurora. One needs to be in a dark, open area and hope for clear sky in the northern horizon.

The ideal time to watch Northern Lights is from 10 pm (ET) to 1 am (ET). Potential Northern Lights Aurora viewing locations for Wednesday night are Seattle, Edmonton, Billings, Winnipeg, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Detroit, Caribou, New York and other places.

People as far south as Alabama and New Mexico were treated to dazzling views of the northern lights on Wednesday (after Tuesday midnight) as blasts of charged particles from the sun reached Earth. National Weather Service offices across the United States, including Oklahoma, Washington state, Tennessee, Iowa, Idaho, South Dakota, posted images on social media of red and green lights stretching across the night sky.


The aurora appeared after the sun emitted masses of charged particles that travel with their own magnetic fields, a phenomenon called coronal mass ejection, or CME. When these particles reach Earth, they disturb the planet's magnetic field -- a geomagnetic storm -- and also cause lights, or aurora, to appear.

Aurora borealis, or northern lights, are most common over locations closer to the North Pole. The interactions of solar particles with different gases in Earth's atmosphere produce different colors. Oxygen creates green or red light during an aurora, while blue and purple come from nitrogen.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center said three such ejections took place in recent days.

FAQs

Q1. What are northern lights aurora?

A1. Aurora borealis, or northern lights, are most common over locations closer to the North Pole. The interactions of solar particles with different gases in Earth's atmosphere produce different colors. Oxygen creates green or red light during an aurora, while blue and purple come from nitrogen.

Q2. Which places viewed northern lights aurora?

A2. National Weather Service offices across the United States, including Oklahoma, Washington state, Tennessee, Iowa, Idaho, South Dakota, posted images on social media of red and green lights stretching across the night sky.