Heads up aurora chasers! The northern lights could illuminate skies overnight on Aug. 8-9 as an incoming coronal mass ejection (CME) and speedy solar winds may spark geomagnetic storm conditions, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Though only a glancing blow is predicted from the CME, any impact could disrupt Earth's magnetic field, which in turn can trigger geomagnetic storms and impressive auroras.
Space weather forecasters from NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) and the U.K. Met Office predict a chance of minor (G1) to moderate (G2) geomagnetic storms, with the latest NOAA forecast dialing activity down slightly to G1 conditions (Kp 5). That still means there's a window of opportunity for aurora sightings at northern latitudes, weather and dark skies permitting.
