---
title: "You’ll Be Able to See the Northern Lights From the United States This Week"
description: "The aurora borealis will be visible in large swathes of the northern United States and Canada over Thursday night. Here's why they occur."
date: "2020-12-10"
modified: "2020-12-10"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/northern-lights-visible-united-states-this-week"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "aurora"
  - "aurora borealis"
  - "coronal mass ejection"
  - "northern lights"
  - "solar flares"
  - "the digest"
---

# You’ll Be Able to See the Northern Lights From the United States This Week

![The aurora borealis will be visible in large swathes of the northern United States and Canada over Thursday night. Here's why they occur.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/northern-lights-visible-united-states-this-week.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Cameron Pickett\</em\>*

## Golden Compass

Great swathes of the northern US and Canada will have a breathtaking spectacle to look forward to this week: the Northern Lights are likely to be visible anywhere from Maine to Montana to Washington this week, [according to *SpaceWeather.com*](<https://spaceweather.com/>).

*The Weather Network* [predicts that](<https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/auroras-expected-wednesday-thursday-after-solar-flare-and-coronal-mass-ejection>) the most visible auroras will occur over Thursday evening and the early morning hours of Friday.

## Solar Flare Ups

The phenomenon, also known as the aurora borealis, is caused by solar flares dislodged by a coronal mass ejection, a violent and sudden release of plasma energy and magnetic fields emanating from the Sun.

Great flashes of colorful light appear in the night sky as these solar flares enter the Earth's atmosphere and release energy. The greater the mass emitted by the Sun, the more dramatic and visible the auroras.

The Earth's atmosphere acts as a shield against these space weather events, preventing us from exposure to the radiation of outer space. However, some solar flare particles make it into the upper atmosphere, where they collide with air molecules to release energy in the form of brilliant flashes of light.

**READ MORE:** [Northern lights, known for glowing red and green colors, could be visible this week across northern US](<https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/12/09/northern-lights-aurora-borealis-visible-across-northern-us/3866912001/>) \[*USA Today*\]

**More on northern lights:** *[Majestic Auroras Sweep the Martian Sky Almost Every Day](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/majestic-auroras-mars-sky>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)