Northern Lights Expected Across 20 U.S. States Thursday Night

Once in a while, the sun reminds us that Earth is not an island — that we are embedded in a living, dynamic solar system whose energies occasionally spill into our skies in breathtaking color. This week, a geomagnetic storm is expected to carry the Northern Lights far south of their Arctic home, making them visible across as many as twenty American states on Thursday night. NOAA has been tracking the solar activity responsible, and forecasters see real potential for an unusually wide swath of the country to witness the aurora. For many who will never travel to Alaska or Scandinavia, the sky it