Auroras to grace skies today: Where will Northern Lights be visible across the US tonight?

Skygazers are gearing for a cosmic spectacle tonight — the northern lights. It is expected that the auroras will be visible in 28 states tonight. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the most awaited northern lights could be visible from a large swath of the northern United States on Monday night.

The National Weather Service Seattle in a post on X said that the solar storm arrived ahead of schedule. “Forecast from earlier this morning had the Kp index peaking at 8 between 10 pm and 1 am so the peak might be a little earlier. There is a chance we could start seeing the aurora early this evening,” the weather office said.

The weather agency said that G4 Watch is in effect for 19 January night due to anticipated coronal mass ejection (CME) arrival at Earth.

The northern lights will grace the skies across the United States. It is possible to enjoy the astronomical spectacle from New York to Washington State and as far south as Alabama to Northern California.

Moving to the Atlantic, the aurora borealis will be visible from northern parts of Britain, including Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, as per forecasters. Though cloud cover and rain might hinder visibility, but chances are that these lights will be visible farther south.

Considering the Southern Hemisphere, the auroras could be visible across southern parts of New Zealand and parts of Australia. Britain's Met Office predicted short hours of darkness this time of year which would limit visibility in those areas.

As pForecasters are predicting a Kp index of eight out of nine for tonight, signaling a strong geomagnetic storm that could make the northern lights visible farther south than usual.