Where northern lights may shine amid geomagnetic storm watches

(NEXSTAR) – In addition to the blood moon lunar eclipse you could see this week , you may get the chance to see the northern lights following some strong activity on the sun.

The northern lights occur when material hurled out by the sun hits our atmosphere and interacts with its gases , which can also lead to geomagnetic storms.

Earlier this week, the sun ejected some of that material that could spark the aurora. The National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) issued geomagnetic storm watches for Thursday and Friday over the expected impact of a coronal hole high speed stream, or CH HSS .

On Wednesday, the storm watches were extended through Saturday in response to coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, that erupted from the sun.

The SWPC’s watches suggest stronger conditions Friday and Saturday.

The arrival of all of this solar material could bring enough energy to cause the northern lights, at least in the northern portion of the U.S.

The three-day forecast from the SWPC suggests the geomagnetic storm conditions could strengthen around 5 p.m. EDT Thursday and continue beyond sunset, which would be ideal for those hoping to see the northern lights (which are best viewed at night when the sun isn’t drowning them out).

Conditions could reach moderate G2 level between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. EDT Thursday. Storms of this strength can bring the northern lights as far south as New York and Idaho, the SWPC explains.

The SWPC’s aurora forecast for Thursday gives most of Canada and Alaska the best likelihood for catching the northern lights. For those along the Canadian border, there’s a slim chance, meaning the aurora may only be visible along the northern horizon.

The storms could lose some strength as Thursday night becomes Friday morning, but the SWPC’s most recent forecast shows they could pick up again at around 5 p.m. EDT. Conditions could again strengthen between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. EDT before tapering off.

The SWPC’s forecast for Friday is about the same as Thursday’s:

The SWPC’s three-day forecast only runs through 11 p.m. EDT on Saturday, so it’s not clear if conditions will strengthen again for viewing.

It’s also possible that the geomagnetic storm activity is stronger or weaker than the forecast suggests. It’s difficult to predict how material hurling through space will interact with our atmosphere until it’s much closer to Earth, and even then, if conditions aren’t perfect in the atmosphere, the solar material may not end up causing a visible aurora.

Should they shine, you can improve your odds of seeing the aurora by looking to the northern horizon. If you have trouble seeing the lights, try using your phone . New digital cameras have lenses that are more sensitive to light than our eyes, so they are better at capturing those green, pink, and red hues.