Aurora forecast issued for the night of August 27 from the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.
(NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center)
A real treat is in store for fans of skywatching this week: a partial lunar eclipse will be visible in North and South America tonight. As if this weren’t already a rare sight, it could be enhanced by the northern lights making a southward swoop thanks to a geomagnetic storm.
How strong?
A G1-level (minor) geomagnetic storm watch has been issued for the day of the eclipse thanks to coronal mass ejections that departed the sun on Tuesday.
This could allow the northern lights to be seen as far south as parts of the U.S. northern tier, from Washington to the upper Midwest.
They will likely be faint, so make sure you set up in dark areas to hopefully catch a glimpse of the two phenomena coinciding.
You could also potentially take a trip to the Canadian wilderness, where you’re more likely to see both.
Unfortunately, the geomagnetic storm forecast, and therefore the amount of the U.S. that may be able to see the northern lights, peaks the day after the lunar eclipse.
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A G2 level (moderate) geomagnetic storm watch has been issued from Friday into Saturday (Aug. 28 to 29).
This is when the aurora could be seen as far south as states like Idaho and New York, so anyone in those areas who can’t travel may need to dedicate two nights to staying up late and looking at the sky this week.
As disappointing as it is, it is kind of sweet, if you think about it. The northern lights are caused by activity from the sun, and a partial lunar eclipse is the moon’s time to shine (not literally — it’ll be darker than usual).
So the sun is just letting the moon have its moment in the sun (again, strictly metaphorically speaking here, because the Earth will be blocking most sunlight from reaching the moon).
What you need to know about the lunar eclipse
This may technically only be a “partial” eclipse, but it peaks at 96.2% coverage (making it nearly but not quite a “blood moon”).
(MORE: Partial lunar eclipse might be best seen in Southern Plains heat dome)
The eclipse begins at 9:23 p.m. EDT, and it peaks at 12:13 a.m. EDT on Aug. 29.
Sara Tonks is a content meteorologist with weather.com and has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Georgia Tech in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, along with a master’s degree from Unity Environmental University in Marine Science.