Mid-Missouri's Sky Show: Auroras Light Up the Night Again

The sky over Mid-Missouri is set to put on another dazzling display of the northern lights tonight. This follows a spectacular show on Tuesday night, thanks to a series of solar storms. The Space Weather Prediction Center has warned of a severe geomagnetic storm, labeled as G4, which could bring more auroras to the region. These stunning light shows are caused by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the Sun. CMEs are huge bursts of plasma that shoot out into space at incredible speeds. When these charged particles hit Earth's upper atmosphere, they make the gases glow, creating the beautiful auroras we see. Strong CMEs can mess with our communication systems and infrastructure, but they also push the auroras further south than usual. On Tuesday night, the storm briefly hit G5, the highest level, and another CME is expected to arrive midday Wednesday, keeping the storm at G4 through the night. Thursday might also see a strong storm, rated G3. The best time to catch the auroras tonight will likely be right after sunset, between 6 p. m. and 9 p. m. Mid-Missouri has seen several aurora displays in the past year and a half. In May 2024, the strongest geomagnetic storm in over 20 years lit up the skies, and last October, the northern lights were even spotted as far south as Florida. Red auroras are the easiest to see in Mid-Missouri because they occur higher in the atmosphere and can be seen from farther away. Green auroras, though more common, happen at lower altitudes.