![\"Travel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772090365_555_0x0.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
NOAA is forecasting an uptick in space weather, with the aurora borealis possible from northern U.S. states and Canada on Sunday, Feb. 22, through Monday, Feb. 23 . (AP Photo\/Rene Rossignaud, File)<\/p>\n
Image Rene Rossignaud\/AP<\/p>\n
The northern lights<\/a> may be seen in northern U.S. states Sunday, Feb. 22, through Monday, Feb. 23, after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a geomagnetic storm watch, warning that minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are likely. <\/p>\n Spring equinox on March 20 makes auroras twice as likely in the weeks leading up as the magnetic fields of Earth and the solar wind align.<\/p>\n It comes as a period of potentially intense space weather is expected. Sunspot AR4366 \u2014 which produced several powerful X-class solar flares in early February, causing widespread northern lights across North America<\/a> \u2014 is rotating to face Earth. AR4366 produced six X-class solar flares during early February. <\/p>\n Northern Lights Forecast: Moon Phase<\/p>\n For aurora-hunters, it can\u2019t come soon enough, because the moon is getting brighter \u2014 something that tends to dull the effect of auroras. On Sunday, a 33%-lit waxing crescent moon will be in the sky after dark \u2014 close to the Pleiades open cluster of stars \u2014 but set a few hours after sunset across North America. <\/p>\n The northern lights are caused by the solar wind, streams of charged particles flowing from the sun that interact with Earth\u2019s magnetic field. While most are deflected, some particles spiral along magnetic field lines toward the poles, colliding with oxygen and nitrogen atoms high in the atmosphere. These collisions excite the gases, causing them to release energy as shimmering light.<\/p>\n NOAA’s aurora viewline shows where\u00a0northern lights may be seen in northern U.S. states overnight Sunday, Feb. 22, through Monday, Feb. 23, 2026.<\/p>\n NOAANorthern Lights Forecast: Where And When To Look<\/p>\n NOAA\u2019s aurora view line<\/a> shows the northern lights potentially visible \u2014 most likely low on the northern horizon \u2014 in up to 11 U.S. states near the Canada border. States in pole position include Alaska and (northerly parts of) Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine.<\/p>\n If a G2-class geomagnetic storm erupts \u2014 which is possible \u2014 it could potentially make aurora viewable from states much farther south. That could mean faint auroras visible low on the northern horizon in northern regions of Oregon, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. However, states farther north will always have the best odds.<\/p>\n The clearer and darker the northern sky, the more vibrant the display, so for the best views, use a light pollution map<\/a> and a Dark Sky Place Finder<\/a> (though finding a clear sky will also be essential).<\/p>\n Northern Lights Forecast: Latest Updates<\/p>\n The exact timing of space weather is difficult to predict because it depends on the speed of the solar wind. Continually monitor NOAA\u2019s 30-minute aurora forecast<\/a> and SpaceWeatherLive.com<\/a>, as well as apps such as Aurora Now, My Aurora Forecast, SpaceWeatherLive or Glendale Aurora, which provide live solar wind data.<\/p>\n Look for data on the interplanetary magnetic field\u2019s Bz component, which determines how easily solar energy enters Earth\u2019s magnetosphere. When Bz points north, Earth\u2019s field resists it; when Bz swings south, the two fields connect, allowing plasma to stream in. A sustained southward Bz of -5 nT or stronger usually signals an imminent display of aurora.<\/p>\n Photographing The Northern Lights With A Smartphone<\/p>\n If your smartphone has a Night Mode or Pro Mode, you can capture a beautiful aurora photo with these steps:<\/p>\n Use your main lens, not the ultra-wide, for sharper results.Stabilize the camera using a tripod or rest it on a firm surface such as a car roof, wall, or post.Shoot in RAW format if available, as it makes post-editing easier.Expect long exposures between five and ten seconds. Even faint glows that look grayish to the eye often appear vividly green, purple or red in photos.<\/p>\n Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NOAA is forecasting an uptick in space weather, with the aurora borealis possible from northern U.S. states and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310858,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[155765,155766,36976,155763,242,155764,85,46,15336,15335,36974,155762,141,4374],"class_list":{"0":"post-310857","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-11-states-northern-lights","9":"tag-aurora-borealis-u-s-map","10":"tag-aurora-forecast","11":"tag-aurora-forecast-sunday","12":"tag-environment","13":"tag-geomagnetic-storm-watch","14":"tag-il","15":"tag-israel","16":"tag-noaa","17":"tag-northern-lights","18":"tag-northern-lights-alert","19":"tag-northern-lights-alert-tonight","20":"tag-science","21":"tag-u-s"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}