Northern lights may be visible in Michigan this weekend: Where to watch

Those living in upper Michigan may want to stay up late this weekend: northern lights may be visible Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

According to the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the weather phenomena will be visible Friday night in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and visible in the U.P. and northern lower Michigan on Saturday night and only in the U.P. again on Sunday night. Aurora levels are expected to be moderate Friday and Sunday, with the strongest coming Saturday. 

Michiganders view of the northern lights will depend on the geomagnetic activity that is expected to occur Friday and Saturday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center has issued geomagnetic storm watches for those two days, stating activity is expected to increase due to "an increasingly disturbed solar wind field associated with effects of a positive polarity coronal hole high speed stream." A G1 minor storm is likely to happen mid to late day Friday, eventually turning into a G2 storm by Saturday. 

According to aurora website Soft Serve News, the fast-moving particles can create a northern lights display. 

Aurora borealis is caused by collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun and molecules and atoms of gas, particularly oxygen and nitrogen. 

When the electrons and protons collide, they gain energy. In order to go back to its normal state, they release energy in the form of light. 

The aurora is usually seen around the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. This is due to the electrons from the sun traveling along magnetic field lines in the earth's magnetosphere, or a comet-shaped bubble. 

During large events, northern lights can be visible from as far south as the continental United States during larger geomagnetic storms, said the NOAA. For the best viewing, skies must be clear and free of clouds. 

However, the weather in Michigan looks like it will not cooperate. The National Weather Service in Marquette is forecasting partly cloudy skies Friday night, with a 40% chance of showers. Saturday and Sunday night will also be cloudy. 

The Gaylord office is expecting rain showers Friday night before 2 a.m. Saturday night will be partly cloudy, while Sunday's forecast includes showers with mostly cloudy skies. 

Here some of the best spots in the state to see the northern lights: 

• Michigan Technical University recommends watching from anywhere north of Houghton in the Upper Peninsula, or anywhere along Lake Superior's south shore.
• Marquette photographer Shawn Malone recommends viewing from the Headlands International Dark Sky Park near Mackinac City, or from a spot up north where tree lines and hills don't block your view. Headlands notes on its website that auroras are generally best viewed after midnight.
• NOAA offers a more specific prediction system for best viewing times based on your location and the strength of magnetic activity there. 

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