![]() The Northern Lights, scientifically called the Aurora Borealis, are collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun entering the earth’s atmosphere. What are the Northern Lights? Understanding the Northern Lights Michigan offers some of the best viewing of the northern lights, and one of the best ways to experience the wonder of Michigan is seeing the northern lights over one of the Great Lakes.Īlthough the aurora most frequently occurs in this zone, during stronger solar storms, the northern lights phenomenon can be seen from points farther south, such as Michigan. According to the Northern Lights Center, in medieval times, occurrences of auroral displays were seen as harbingers of war or famine and the Menominee Indians of Wisconsin believed that the lights indicated the location of Manabai’wok (giants), who were the spirits of great hunters and fishermen. The lights cast their rippling shades of purple, blue, and green across the sky over Michigan soil (and water) every year and it is a simply fabulous sight.īeginning in ancient times, the unexplained mysteries of these astral projections have been culturally significant. ![]() The magical beauty of the lights dancing across the galaxy is the stuff of legend. Maybe you’ve always associated the northern and southern lights with Norway or Canada, but you can watch the glorious displays right here in Michigan. With endless acres of open wilderness, free from artificial light, Michigan is one the best places in the country to see the northern lights. From the south shore of Lake Superior and Drummond Island in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to Michigan’s Thumb region, there are amazing places to enjoy the Aurora Borealis all over Michigan. Michigan is home to six state-designated dark sky preserves (including one internationally-designated preserve) and many other places that give you the opportunity to see the Northern Lights clearly and free of artificial light. Thanks to miles of quiet, undeveloped Great Lakes shoreline and endless acres of pine and hardwood forests, Michigan is one of the best spots in the northern hemisphere to catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights. Watching the Northern Lights in Michigan light up the sky is simply one of the most memory-making things to do in the months between August and April. When and Where to See Michigan Northern Lights Read on to discover the best places to see the Northern Lights and use our map (at the bottom of this page) to help plan your best Aurora Borealis viewing. Seeing the Michigan sky light up with yellows, blues, greens and violets is an unforgettable outdoor adventure you won’t want to miss. When the news hits that Michigan’s Aurora Borealis will be visible, it’s time to find out how and where to see this amazing celestial event. The northern lights forecast is in, and the Aurora Borealis should be visible in Michigan skies this week. Hoping to take a peek at the elusive Michigan Northern lights this week?įor dedicated night sky watchers (and the rest of us, too), there’s nothing more exciting than the chance to take a peek at the elusive Northern Lights in Michigan. Michigan Northern Lights Viewing: When and Where to See the Northern Lights in Michigan Where to See the Northern Lights in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.When and Where to See Michigan Northern Lights.Michigan Northern Lights Viewing: When and Where to See the Northern Lights in Michigan.Mostly, that energy is driven to the Earth’s North and South Poles, but the stronger the storm is, the more likely it is to be seen in lower latitudes like the southern United States. Green and red largely come from oxygen, and blue stems from nitrogen. The colors seen in the sky are dictated by where in the atmosphere the oxygen and nitrogen hit, Dr. That creates geomagnetic storms that produce the aurora. The energy comes from a coronal mass ejection, a large expulsion of plasma from the sun, which causes the magnetic field around Earth to shake. Alex Young, the associate director for science in the Heliophysics Science Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The Space Weather Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration rated the geomagnetic storm’s severity a Level 4 on its five-tier scale.Ĭatching a glimpse of the auroras requires electrons from solar wind to hit the electrons that are already trapped around earth’s magnetic field, which then acts like a slingshot, said C. But on Thursday night, a “severe” geomagnetic storm brought the auroras to Minnesota, New York and Virginia, and the views even moved as far south as Arizona and North Carolina. The colorful streaks in the sky, also known as the northern lights, are often visible from places like Alaska, Canada and Iceland.
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