Following a weekend northern lights display, there's still a chance to see them tonight

Nicole Mortillaro · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 02, 2025 4:20 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

There was a almighty geomagnetic tempest implicit the weekend, resulting successful beauteous displays of the bluish lights from Canada down to the U.S. And there's a anticipation that the colourful curtains successful the entity could beryllium disposable erstwhile again connected Monday night.

The bluish lights, oregon aurora borealis, hap erstwhile particles from the prima are carried on by fast-moving star wind. Often this occurs owed to a coronal wide ejection, oregon CME. This is simply a ample expulsion of particles from the prima that question faster than mean connected the star wind.

One of these CMEs deed Earth connected Saturday, resulting successful auroras seen each implicit the world.

The amusement continued into Sunday during daylight hours successful Canada but past waned. But we are inactive feeling the effects of the CME interacting with our magnetic field, which means we whitethorn inactive get a show.

The spot of a geomagnetic tempest is measured utilizing the Kp Index, ranging from 1 to nine. The higher the number, the stronger the storm. 

On Sunday, the Kp Index went arsenic precocious arsenic eight, but it fell to 5 by aboriginal Monday. Although it has dropped, that doesn't mean the amusement is over. But it's apt that it won't beryllium arsenic almighty oregon aggravated arsenic this weekend's display.

As Chris Ratzlaff, a seasoned aurora chaser from Airdrie, Alta., and the co-founder of the ever fashionable Alberta Aurora Chasers, said, there's "lots of imaginable [and] tons of uncertainty."

"The probability is not precocious due to the fact that determination is uncertainty astir the creation of the process extremity of the CME," helium said. "If conditions successful the process extremity of the CME stay favourable, past our likelihood for aurora volition improve."

Forecasting the bluish lights is notoriously difficult. There are galore conditions that request to beryllium met, including however accelerated the upwind is moving and whether the auroral oval — on which these particles interact with molecules that nutrient the colours of the lights — tips south, successful our favour.

The further southbound the spread dips, the further southbound the aurora are seen. And, arsenic of Monday afternoon, the auroral oval was tipping south, successful our favour.

To spot them, you should look north. For those further southbound successful Canada, specified arsenic successful southwestern Ontario, it's champion to person a wide enactment of show to the bluish horizon.

The different happening that galore Canadians whitethorn person to woody with that could hamper immoderate chances of seeing the bluish lights is the fume that is covering galore parts of the state arsenic wood fires dispersed successful Western Canada.

If the bluish lights bash amusement up Monday night, don't expect an unthinkable show similar the 1 from past May oregon past October. If it happens, this volition apt beryllium weaker.