There is a chance the Northern Lights could be seen in Northern Nevada again Saturday night. The setup is about the same as Friday night, so odds are in our favor.Â
It has to be dark enough for the lights to be seen, but there isn’t an exact time for them to occur. They happened Friday night from roughly 11 p.m. through 2 a.m.
If you want the best viewing, drive north and get away from city lights and pollution. I was able to see them at Windy Hill in southwest Reno around midnight on Friday.
The lights were visible with my eye alone, but my iPhone made the colors look more vibrant.
Skies will be clear tonight, so it should be a good viewing.
A severe solar storm is rare and gives us a good chance for seeing the Northern Lights.
While they are neat to see, they can cause some disruptions to satellites and technology that is located in space. So hopefully that won’t happen.
Normally the earth’s magnetic shield blocks any particles coming off the sun from reaching the earth’s atmosphere, but when there is a solar storm, it makes it easier for a particle to break through. A solar storm usually involves mass explosions on the sun, allowing the particles to shoot off the sun toward earth.
As the sun’s particles collide with the atmosphere, a chemical reaction occurs, leading to bright colors of green and pink. The particles are deflected toward the earth’s poles, which is why the lights appear as a ring or arc. However, the shape of the lights will change depending on your viewing point and the earth's magnetic field.
