(WTAQ-WLUK) — There has been some confusion about spotting the northern lights later this week throughout the U.S., but it does not seem likely, according to the current forecast.
Wisconsinites last saw the aurora borealis in late April. And it’s sounding like we won’t be seeing them again quite yet.
“Until the sun gives off a burst of charged particles, can’t really say it’s going to happen,” said Teri Gee, director of the Barlow Planetarium.
Gee says the sun gives off solar wind and travels to the Earth all the time.
“Earth has a magnetic field that kicks those all the way,” Gee explained. “Every so often, the sun will give off big bursts of energy. In this case, a coronal mass ejection is a big burst of charged particles, will get funneled around the north and south poles. The more particles there are, the further south they get.”
Space forecasters use the Planetary K Index that says how far south the northern lights will travel based on how much coronal mass energy is given. On a scale of zero to nine, the higher the number is, the further south the lights may travel.
In this case, the University of Alaska – Fairbanks is predicting a K index of four by the time we get to Thursday night, which means most of the country won’t be seeing the lights.
But don’t frown about missing this opportunity.
“There’s actually going to be a lot more chances for this to happen over the next year so — in this very active pattern the sun is in,” said Gee.
While we may be missing out on the dazzling sight this time around, it sounds like there will be plenty of chances still ahead.
