A look back at this week’s Northern Lights

A miraculous display of Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, took many by surprise earlier this week. Tuesday night will be one to remember for those who witnessed the otherworldly pillars of red and green light, especially for those south of the 40th parallel, where the phenomenon is far less common.

What causes the Northern Lights? In short, the Aurora Borealis is caused by large quantities of superheated plasma emitted from the sun, known as coronal mass ejections (CME). These highly energized particles race toward Earth at blistering speeds and interact with our planet’s magnetic field and atmosphere. As the barrage of solar particles is essentially buffered by atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen, waves of red and green are emitted into the night sky. This effect is most prominent at high latitudes, closer to the north and south poles.

Tuesday night’s prolific round of Northern Lights was unique, as it was visible much further south than usual. Skies were not only painted across the northern tier of the United States, but faint films of color were visible as far south as Florida! Interestingly, a similar event took place in May of 2024.

In Northwest Missouri, Northeast Kansas, and much of the contiguous U.S., the most recent Aurora was more visible than that of May 2024, despite being slightly less intense according to the K index, used to assess and predict the magnitude of coronal mass ejections and resulting “solar storms”.

In addition to the strength of CMEs, their timing and orientation can also influence the magnitude and location of auroras they produce.

If you didn’t catch Tuesday night’s light show locally, it might have been due to your location. Those near population centers are less likely to see the fleeting colors across the Northern skies, due to light pollution.

Even mid-sized cities like St. Joseph produce enough light to dim the Auroras, so travelling several miles outside of town can make all the difference.