If you have dreams of catching a glimpse of the northern lights, tonight may be your lucky night. The Aurora Borealis will be visible in parts of Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Maine as well as Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia due to a coronal hole high spread stream — which causes the northern lights to appear further south than usual according to the Space Weather Prediction Center.
The SWPC reports that a G1 magnetic storm alert has been issued for February 27th, so if you’re lucky enough to live in one of the states listed, you’ll have a chance to catch the northern lights between sunset and 11 p.m.
If you have any hope of seeing the Aurora Borealis, drop whatever you’re doing and get to the darkest area near you. According to Thrillist, tonight is also the night that Mercury will be closest to Earth, and will be appearing in the western sky after sunset. So you get two celestial events in one evening, which is more than you got yesterday!
While Mercury’s orbit probably isn’t worth dropping everything for, tonight’s Aurora will be a unique experience as we are currently in the midst of a solar minimum in the solar cycle, which makes coronal hole high spread streams much rarer! The SWPC told Thrillist that the further south you are, the closer the lights will appear to the horizon, which is why the ultra dark conditions are necessary.
