Where and when to see it

The night sky may be providing the best Valentine’s Day gift on Friday for Canada and some parts of the northern United States.

The northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, may to be visible in a few northern states throughout Friday night if weather conditions allow. Though the colorful night-sky phenomenon is traditionally associated with the Earth’s poles, a solar storm that began earlier this week could make the display more widely visible.

Here’s what to know about the northern lights and how to possibly catch a glimpse of them on Valentine’s Day night.

Where will the northern lights be visible?

According to the Space Weather Prediction Center’s experimental aurora viewline, the Valentine’s Day northern lights will largely be visible in Canada and Alaska.

However, a thin red “viewline” representing the southern-most locations where the northern lights will be visible extends to:

• Washington (northeastern corner)

• Idaho (northern-most tip)

• North Dakota (entire state)

• Minnesota (northern half)

• Michigan (northern-most top)

• Maine (northwestern corner)

Want to keep a keen eye on the forecast? The Space Weather Prediction Center updates its aurora forecast every 30 minutes at swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-30-minute-forecast.

When will the northern lights be visible?

Assuming the weather is clear, the best time to see the northern lights is usually within an hour or two of midnight, so between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., according to the Space Weather Prediction Center. This time tends to be the best for viewing as geomagnetic actively increases toward evening and morning.

Folks hoping to catch a view should also find the darkest spot, away from city lights. Artificial lights and even the moon diminish the apparent brightness of the northern lights.

What causes the northern lights?

According to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, the northern lights are caused by collisions between electrically-charged particles that enter Earth’s atmosphere from space and collide with molecules and atoms of gas, like oxygen and nitrogen. As a result, the molecules gain energy. To return to their normal state, the molecules release energy in the form of light.

As for the colors of the northern lights, these are determined by Earth’s atmosphere and the altitude of the molecular collisions, according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. Typically, the northern lights give off a “striking green,” but reds, pinks, blues, purples, yellows and oranges can also be visible.

Why is northern lights activity increasing?

The northern lights are often associated with the Earth’s poles but recently, the natural display has been more visible throughout the United States.

Now that our solar system’s sun is at the height of its 11-year solar cycle, there is an increase in solar activity that produces the right conditions for northern lights to flourish.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, some of this solar activity includes solar flares. Sometimes, solar flares are accompanied by highly-charged bubbles of the sun’s plasma, which comes from the sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona. As the bubbles radiate outward, they carry the sun’s magnetic field with them. When one of these bubbles collides with Earth’s magnetosphere, the barrier that protects the planet from space weather, a geomagnetic storm occurs. A geomagnetic storm tends to result in a visible northern lights.

Contributing: Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY

Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Northern lights forecast to be visible in some states this weekend