The northern lights could be seen from the Okanagan on the evening of July 22-23.
(DAN WALTON / iNFOnews.ca)
July 12, 2023 - 7:30 AM
Night sky watchers and shutterbugs might want to find a good location for viewing the northern lights for two nights this week.
The auroral activity is forecast to be high today, July 12 and Thursday, according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute.
The strength of auroras are measured by a global geomagnetic activity index, the Kp-index that ranges from 0 to 9 where a value of 0 means there is very little geomagnetic activity and a value of 9 means extreme geomagnetic storming.
The university forecast shows geomagnetic activity bumps up from a three to a five on July 12 and up to a six on July 13, indicating an increase in activity and brighter lights, before dropping down to moderate activity until July 23, and then back to low.
This is a chart from the University of Alaska Fairbanks website showing aurora borealis activity.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED
The aurora is a glow around the magnetic poles in the northern and southern hemispheres. The light happens when electrically charged particles coming from the sun in the solar wind come into Earth’s atmosphere and hit molecules and atoms of gases. This causes the particles to gain energy, which they release in the form of light.
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The best time to watch for the aurora borealis is the three or four hours around midnight, but you need a clear and dark sky to see them.
The second night of auroral activity this week is looking more promising than the first one weather-wise in Kamloops and the Okanagan, according to Environment Canada. Cloudy skies with a chance of showers are predicted for tonight, July 12, in Kamloops, while Thursday night is expected to be clear.
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