New chance to see northern lights in Ohio tonight due to rare solar event

MIAMI VALLEY — Did you miss the green, red, and purple northern lights in the sky Friday night?

Northern Lights GFX Northern Lights GFX (WHIO)

There’s another chance to see them if clouds can break up and clear out after sunset tonight, according to Storm Center 7 Weather Specialist Nick Dunn.

>> PHOTOS: Rare northern lights visible in parts of the Miami Valley

The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center has issued another G5 Geomagnetic Storm Watch for tonight.

Current forecasts indicate that the best time to see the northern lights is after 2 a.m., according to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.

We were treated to a spectacular sight Friday night as a G5 Geomagnetic Storm impacted Earth. This allowed for strong auroras to be visible across much of the United States.

The K Index is what we use for a visibility guide, with 1 being dim and 9 being vibrant. The latest projections show the K Index may not exceed 8 until 2 a.m. or later, which is what we need to have a good chance to see the northern lights again.

The sun has had several large Coronal Mass Ejections (CME’s), which are large amounts of plasma exploding from the sun’s corona. As that projects towards Earth, the magnetic field around our planet directs the ejections towards the poles involving a process that gives us quite the array of colors in the sky! To capture this, the best option will be using the long exposure option on your mobile phone or having a professional camera. To the naked eye, it is faint, but your camera can capture the stunning colors!

For the forecast tonight, we will need clouds to clear out after sunset. Unlike last night, we do not have another system approaching us. Currently, futurecast shows some cloud cover hanging around. Patience may be needed, but in general, clouds should be mostly clear. The best chance to view the northern lights tonight will be after it is fully dark into the early overnight!

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