The northern lights have put on a show in 2024. In May, the strongest solar storm in 21 years set off the aurora borealis and on Thursday night, the stunning colors were visible once again even to the naked eye across much of the United States.
Did you miss seeing the spectacular display? Don’t worry, an expert says the conditions that resulted in the recent burst of northern lights activity will be in place for many months to come.
Shawn Dahl, a forecast coordinator with the Space Weather Prediction Center, told CBS Boston executive weather producer Terry Eliasen that the northern lights have been so intense lately because of where the sun is in its 11-year solar cycle. Dahl said that “we are in the midst of solar maximum.”
It because the sun has coronal mass ejections that are sending strong radiation to us and when it collides with the outer atmosphere, voila. This is the most active period in sun cycle in many years.
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The northern lights have put on a show in 2024. In May, the strongest solar storm in 21 years set off the aurora borealis and on Thursday night, the stunning colors were visible once again even to the naked eye across much of the United States.
Did you miss seeing the spectacular display? Don’t worry, an expert says the conditions that resulted in the recent burst of northern lights activity will be in place for many months to come.
Shawn Dahl, a forecast coordinator with the Space Weather Prediction Center, told CBS Boston executive weather producer Terry Eliasen that the northern lights have been so intense lately because of where the sun is in its 11-year solar cycle. Dahl said that “we are in the midst of solar maximum.”
**Read more:** [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/northern-lights-explained-visible-expert-solar-cycle/](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/northern-lights-explained-visible-expert-solar-cycle/)
It because the sun has coronal mass ejections that are sending strong radiation to us and when it collides with the outer atmosphere, voila. This is the most active period in sun cycle in many years.