Northern lights could return to Colorado skies Thursday, Friday

A burst of geomagnetic storms this week could return the northern lights to Colorado skies on Thursday and Friday night, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

While the storms aren’t as strong as the ones back in May — meaning the lights won’t be as vibrant or easy to see — it’ll still be possible for Coloradans to catch a glimpse or more of the light show on the horizon.

The Space Weather Prediction Center on Wednesday issued a G3 geomagnetic storm watch for strong solar storms expected to peak on Friday. When abnormally strong geomagnetic storms occur, bright northern lights will be visible at unusually low latitudes.

NOAA space weather officials said Thursday afternoon that multiple “prolific” coronal mass ejections (CMEs) — pulses of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun — were spotted headed toward Earth.

The fastest CMEs can reach Earth from the Sun in 15 to 18 hours, and slower CMEs can take several days to arrive, NOAA officials said.

When CMEs hit the earth, they create geomagnetic storms that threaten power grids and voltage control, disrupt satellite services and low-frequency radio navigation systems and cause issues for spacecraft operations, weather officials said.

Space weather officials said Thursday night could still see minor, G1-level geomagnetic activity that could bring the northern lights as low as Nebraska and Wyoming. The lights will stretch even further down Friday as the solar storms increase in severity.

While northern states may have more luck seeing the lights with their naked eye, Coloradans can use their phones to boost the view. A phone’s camera can pick up the light’s wavelengths better than the human eye.

Clear night skies are forecast for Colorado through Saturday, making the perfect weather for stargazing and aurora watching, according to the National Weather Service.

Those who want a better chance at seeing the aurora with their own eyes should drive to the Wyoming border, which is much closer to the “green zone” for both tonight’s and tomorrow night’s light shows. The drive from Denver usually takes less than two hours.