This Labor Day weekend brings some great views of the Northern Lights or aurora borealis. The aurora is usually more visible between September and April. That’s when the skies are dark enough for the eerie atmospheric lights to show up.

According to forecasters at the Geophysical Institute in Fairbanks at the University of Alaska the aurora borealis lights are “turned on” for the 2022 Labor Day weekend. And will be visible in parts of the U.S. until Monday, Sept. 5. The light show will peak after sundown from Saturday into Sunday morning.

Depending on the local weather the aurora will be visible overhead from Helena, Montana, to Minneapolis, Minnesota and throughout Wisconsin and Michigan. 

The light show will also be visible lower on the horizon as far south as Boise, Idaho; Salem, Oregon; and Cheyenne, Wyoming. They can be seen in Nebraska; Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri; and throughout Indiana. And on the east coast Annapolis, Maryland may catch the beautiful light show.

Far northern locales that experience the midnight sun, or 24 hours of daylight in the summer can only see the spectacle starting in September. And the best views occur between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. local times.

You don’t need a telescope or binoculars to watch this light show. The best viewing takes place under clear cloud-free skies in areas with little pollution. The phases of the moon are an issue. Bright full moons can fade out the Northern Lights. 

Fortunately, Labor Day weekend has a crescent moon. And the Full Harvest Moon won’t appear till September 11th.  

Check local weather forecasts as well, because you won't be able to spot the aurora through the clouds.  And keep in mind city lights can fade out lower-intensity auroras.

What are the Northern Lights?

The Aurora Borealis are more commonly known as the Northern Lights. They are the result of atmospheric interactions between the Sun and Earth's outer edges. 

The Sun’s electrically charged ions become trapped and interact with the Earth's ionosphere. The ionosphere is about 60 to 80 miles above our planet’s surface. This causes the ions to light up or glow. 

It’s the same principle that lights up a neon sign. Electrons passing through the neon tubing glow. And that’s what produces the light in a neon sign.

According to Jeff Regester, an instructor of physics and astronomy at High Point University in North Carolina, "Auroras have been seen in the atmospheres of all the gas giant planets, which is not surprising, since these planets all have robust magnetic fields." 

 "More surprisingly, auroras have also been discovered on both Venus and Mars, both of which have very weak magnetic fields," Register added.

Watching the Northern Lights from Space

On August 26th astronaut Bob Hines tweeted that “August’s auroras resulting from the mid-month geo-magnetic storm/solar activity were just breathtaking. Words (and even photos) don’t do them justice, but I’m glad the time-lapses came out so well.”

The view from the orbiting International Space Station often includes mysterious dancing auroras. And depending on the atmosphere of exoplanets researchers expect to see the aurora phenomenon. 

Astronomers have even caught images of auroral activity in other solar systems. And in two October 2021 studies report these radio waves emitted by multiple red dwarfs, stars smaller and dimmer than our own sun. 

Both here on Earth, and in deep-space these spectacles attract our attention from light-years away.

If you get a chance look up this weekend and maybe, you can spot the Northern lights.