September 12, 2014; 10:17 AM
Stargazers could be in for a rare display Friday night as an Earth-directed solar flare ignites the northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, in the United States. As a result of the flare's direction and strength, the dazzling light display could reach as far south as Maryland in the East and down over Nebraska farther west.
According to AccuWeather.com Astronomer Hunter Outten, the flare is ranked as an X-class, or the highest class for a solar flare. Along with the brilliant light display that may be visible to some in the northern part of the country, a flare of this magnitude could also have adverse effects on GPS, radio frequencies and cell phone and satellite reception as well.
A coronal mass ejection (CME), or a cloud of charged particles released from solar activity, is expected to induce a geomagnetic storm in Earth's atmosphere, around midday Friday. Outten said that this CME will be the second of a "two-hit punch," as another had hit the Earth on Thursday. The geomagnetic storm will cause the northern lights show.
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As the best viewing for the northern lights will occur Friday night, the northern lights will be seen in the Northeast first and then become visible farther west.
There will be some hurdles present for some hopeful viewers, however. Outten pointed out that we're just getting out of the Supermoon, so the light will dull some of the views. There will also be some cloud coverage that will hinder views as well. Clouds will be especially problematic in the Upper Ohio Valley into the Northeast.
Some clouds reaching the northern Plains may also hinder viewing conditions.
Outten said that DSLR cameras will pick up the lights better than the human eye may.
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