RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – An unusually strong coronal mass ejection (CME) coming from the sun earlier this week will give a majority of the United States the chance to see northern lights Wednesday and Thursday night. This includes one of the rare occasions where the auroras could make it far enough south to North Carolina.
10PM WEDNESDAY UPDATE: It looks like the amount of aurora activity needed for that greenish tint in the sky to make it to North Carolina is NOT going to happen Wednesday night. We will try again Thursday night! Remember, aurora forecasts are very tricky and can change last minute.
The most likely times for this to happen are from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday nights. If they appear, auroras will be in the northern sky.
Coronal mass ejections, or solar flares, are bursts of energy and particles that get thrown toward Earth by the sun. They happen frequently, but don’t always make it across the solar systems. CMEs that do make it to Earth normally are deflected by the magnetic shield around the planet.
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