Northern Lights To Be Visible In Maine This Week

The sun let one loose this past Monday, and between tonight and Friday night we may be in for a light show here in Maine.

The NOAA Space Weather Center has issued Geomagnetic Storm Watches that are in effect between December 9th and December 11th, and there's a good chance we may be able to see the Aurora borealis' in our area, if the clouds part long enough.

The Northern Lights are created when the sun releases electrically charged particles, or a solar flare, and when they collide with the earth's atmosphere they create a celestial show for us all below.  Normally, the Aurora borealis' stays further north of us but experts say that there is a good chance to see them in Maine between tonight and Friday night.

Want to know if it's worth getting out of the recliner and going outside to look up?  The NOAA Space Prediction Center offers up a 30 minute forecast.  Keep it on your tablet and be ready to discard the potato chips to run out on the back deck to see a show.

Unfortunately, the National Weather Service predicts mostly cloudy skies tonight in Bangor, but partly cloudy skies for Thursday night, so that may be your best chance to see the Lights.

The solar flare was recorded on Monday and was released from Region 2790 of the sun.  Don't be bummed that you are not familiar with the regions of the sun, because nobody else is either. The big thing to remember is that a few days following these occurrences our skies may turn a bright smokey green, and dance.  One of the many wonders of Mother Nature for all to see.