Science A Hole In The Sun’s Atmosphere Is Causing Dazzling Aurora You Can Watch Live Eric Mack Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I cover science and innovation and products and policies they create. Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Sep 3, 2022, 04:43pm EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Photograph of the Northern Lights, also known as, an Aurora. An aurora is a natural light display in . . . [+] the sky, especially in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of solar wind and magnetospheric charged particles with the high altitude atmosphere. Dated 2014 (Photo by:Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Universal Images Group via Getty Images Be on the lookout for Northern Lights in your neighborhood this weekend as a lot of activity on the sun is increasing the chance more people than usual might be able to take in the Aurora Borealis (or Aurora Australis in the far southern hemisphere). A so-called coronal hole in the sun’s atmosphere has opened up a gap in our star’s magnetic field that allows more solar wind than normal to escape from the sun’s outer layer, or corona. The result is a whole bunch of charged particles slamming into our own planet’s magnetosphere, producing a moderate G2-level geomagnetic storm that could trigger some radio outages for mariners and aviators. But more of interest to the general public, such a storm moves the visible range of the aurora to lower latitudes than normal. In particular, the forecast from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center puts the potential extent of the aurora as far as 50 degrees of geomagnetic latitude, which means that some big cities like Boston, New York, Chicago and Seattle have at least a chance of taking in those rare dancing lights. 387304 01: UNDATED FILE PHOTO: Aurora Australis, the Southern Lights as seen from South Australia as . . . [+] with Aurora Borealis, are displayed during strong geomagnetic events. According to NASA March 29, 2001 the sun recently sent a powerful energy burst in the direction of Earth triggering dazzling aurora displays over nighttime skies on Friday and Saturday, NASA astronomers said. Directed toward Earth, such blasts can distort Earth's magnetic field, producing in extreme latitudes, colorful nocturnal sky displays known as auroras, or the Northern and Southern Lights. (Photo courtesy of NOAA/Newsmakers) Getty Images Of course getting away from all that light pollution would make for far better viewing. Locales in Idaho and Iowa could also be in range if things work out, and probably make for better vantage points, really. MORE FOR YOU New Research Finds A Connection Between Domestic Violence And These Two Personality Disorders This Scientist Helps Andean Forests And Ecuador’s Women In STEM Exceptional Fossil Preservation Suggests That Discovering Dinosaur DNA May Not Be Impossible Even if you can’t watch the lights in the sky in person, a number of streams online can give you a sense of what you’re missing (or what you can look forward to eventually seeing one day), including this one from Sweden and SpaceWeatherLive: Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn . Check out my website . Eric Mack Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.