如果你是一名观星者，请做好准备，在当前太阳周期的高峰期，北极光活动会增加。
根据美国国家海洋和大气管理局的说法，在未来一年或更长时间内，看到北极光(也被称为北极光)的可能性将会增加，因为地球仍处于当前太阳周期的太阳活动高峰期，届时预计会有更多具有强烈磁场活动的黑子空间天气预测中心.
这些太阳黑子能够产生太阳耀斑和日冕物质抛射(CME ),当它们到达地球时会出现耀眼的光。
北极光是什么?
美国国家航空航天局戈达德太空飞行中心的空间物理学家Elizabeth Macdonald告诉美国广播公司新闻，北极光或北极光以及南半球的南极光或南极光是来自太阳的能量的“最后一步”。
NOAA空间天气预测中心的协调员Shawn Dahl告诉ABC新闻，当来自太阳的“太阳物质爆炸和强磁场”与地球外层大气中的原子和分子相互作用时，就会发生北极光事件。这种相互作用导致地球大气层中的原子发光，在夜空中创造出一个彩色光谱。
“作为相互作用的一部分，光被释放出来，这就是我们所看到的极光的闪烁之美，”达尔说。
根据NOAA的数据，每隔11年，太阳磁场达到其太阳最大值，在此期间，太阳耀斑的数量也是最多的。这当前太阳周期NOAA表示，预计将在2024年11月至2026年3月达到峰值，在此期间，北极光活动将会增加。
在美国和世界各地观看北极光的最佳地点
达尔说，在美国大陆，观看北极光的最佳地点包括中西部偏上地区，比如上密歇根半岛和北达科他州。
他说:“这个国家的这个地区更有利于极光向南移动。”
旅游公司Expedia集团推荐4月、10月、11月为密歇根看北极光的最佳时间。根据Expedia的说法，在明尼苏达州，加拿大边境的旅行者国家公园在秋季或冬季是追逐极光的最佳时间。
根据Expedia的数据，在全球范围内，阿拉斯加、加拿大、芬兰和挪威都能获得观看北极光的前排座位。
有时候，光线会比平时更往南延伸。麦克唐纳说，磁暴越强，在更南的地方就能看到北极光。
Expedia集团的旅游专家Melanie Fish告诉美国广播公司新闻说:“在更多的地方可以看到它们。”。
然而，你越往南走，就会出现越多的红色灯光，而不是通常的绿色窗帘国家公园管理局。这是因为地球的曲率导致粒子在大气中更高的位置相互作用，那里氧气不太充足，导致颜色更红。
根据Expedia的数据，中国的长城已经成为观看北极光的最佳地点之一。
什么时候是观看北极光的最佳时间?
专家说，确保黑暗的环境是观看极光的最佳方式，根据达尔的说法，观看北极光的最佳时间通常是午夜前后两个小时。
达尔补充说，在冬季月份，由于天空变得更早，午夜前后的时间窗口可以增加到4个小时。
达尔说，远离光污染，甚至满月的强光，也会增强观看体验。
达尔还提醒观星者保持眼睛适应黑暗，避免与手机明亮的屏幕持续互动。
北极光为什么很难预测?
麦克唐纳说，空间天气预测是一个极其复杂的领域，部分原因是太阳距离我们大约9300万英里。
达尔说，如此巨大的距离使得预测日冕物质抛射的强度变得困难。
达尔说，科学家不知道日冕物质抛射成分，也不知道它的磁场强度，直到它距离地球大约100万英里，在那里驻扎的航天器可以进行测量。到那时，芝加哥商品交易所实际上就在地球的门口。
“这给了我们几个小时的警告，告诉我们来自太阳的活动将会有多强、有多少会进入地球的磁场区域，以及这将如何驱动极光，”麦克唐纳说。
达尔说，使预测CME强度的能力变得更加复杂的是，它可能会在前往地球的漫长旅程中受到亚暴的影响。
如何增加你看到北极光的机会
麦克唐纳经营着一个名为极光龙这使得人们可以注册警报，在他们的地区可能会看到极光。
用户还可以向网站报告他们是否看到了极光，这有助于平台发送警报，实时显示北极光——特别是在通常看不到北极光的地方。麦克唐纳说，这些信息还有助于研究人员建立更好的预测模型。
麦克唐纳说:“所有这些公民科学真的很有用，尤其是在太阳活动高峰期，这是人们第一次拥有各种各样的手机，可以非常容易地拍摄图像。”
最终，达尔敦促人们在寻找北极光时要有耐心。
“它可能还没有完全发展或很弱，但随后它可能会突然升级，因为一个亚暴开始了，”他说。“所以要有耐心，好好利用这一点。”
How to increase your chances of seeing the northern lights as the current solar cycle peaks
If you're a stargazer, prepare yourself for an uptick in northern lights activity amid the peak of the current solar cycle.
For the next year or more, the likelihood of seeing the northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, will increase as Earth remains in the solar maximum of the current solar cycle, when more sunspots with the intense magnetic activity are expected, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationSpace Weather Prediction Center.
These sunspots have the capability of producing the solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CME) that manifest in a dazzling light show when they reach Earth.
What are the northern lights?
The northern lights, or aurora borealis – and their southern hemisphere counterpart, the southern lights, or aurora australis – are "the last step of processes" from energy that originates from the sun, Elizabeth Macdonald, a space physicist with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, told ABC News.
Aurora borealis events occur when a "blast of solar material and strong magnetic fields" from the sun interact with the atoms and molecules in Earth's outer atmosphere, Shawn Dahl, coordinator for NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, told ABC News. This interaction causes the atoms in Earth's atmosphere to glow, creating a spectrum of color in the night sky.
"As part of that interaction, light gets released, and that's what we see as this shimmering beauty of the aurora," Dahl said.
Every 11 years, the sun's magnetic field reaches its solar maximum, during which time the number of solar flares is at its highest, according to NOAA. Thecurrent solar cycleis expected to peak between November 2024 and March 2026, NOAA says, during which time northern lights activity will be heightened.
The best places to see the northern lights in the US and around the world
In the continental U.S., the best places to see the northern lights include the upper Midwest, such as the upper Michigan peninsula and North Dakota, Dahl said.
"That's where the area of the country is more favorable to a more southward progression of the aurora," he said.
The travel companyExpedia Grouprecommended April, October and November as the best times to see the northern lights in Michigan. In Minnesota, Voyageurs National Park along the Canadian border in the fall or winter months is the best time to chase auroras, according to Expedia.
Around the world, Alaska, Canada, Finland and Norway get front-row seats to the northern lights, according to Expedia.
Sometimes the lights can extend farther south than usual. The stronger the geomagnetic storm, the farther south the northern lights can be seen, Macdonald said.
"They are visible in more places than ever before," Melanie Fish, a travel expert at Expedia Group, told ABC News.
However, the farther south you go, the more red the lights will appear rather than as the usual green curtains, according to theNational Park Service.That's because the curvature of the Earth causes the particles to interact higher in the atmosphere, where oxygen is less plentiful, resulting in a more reddish hue.
The Great Wall of China has emerged as one of the top places to see the northern lights, according to Expedia.
When is the best time to see the northern lights?
Ensuring a dark setting is the best way to see the aurora, the experts said, with the best time to see the northern lights typically two hours before and after midnight, according to Dahl.
In winter months, that window can increase to four hours before and after midnight, as the skies get dark earlier, Dahl added.
Getting away from light pollution, and even the bright light of a full moon, will also enhance the viewing experience, Dahl said.
Dahl also reminded star-gazers to keep their eyes dark-adapted and avoid constant interactions with the bright screens of their cell phones.
Why is it difficult to predict the northern lights?
Space weather prediction is an extremely complex field, in part because the sun is about 93 million miles away, Macdonald said.
That tremendous distance makes it difficult to predict the intensity of CMEs, Dahl said.
Scientist don't know that composition of a CME is composed, or the strength of its magnetic field, until it's about one million miles from Earth, where a spacecraft stationed there can take measurements, Dahl said. At that point, the CME is practically on Earth's doorstep.
"That gives us a couple hours of warning of how strong and how much that activity from the sun is going to come into the Earth's magnetic field region out in space, and how well that will drive the aurora," Macdonald said.
Further complicating the ability to forecast the strength of a CME is the possibility that it could be affected by substorms on its long journey toward Earth, Dahl said.
How to increase your chances of seeing the northern lights
Macdonald runs a citizen science platform calledAurorasaurusthat allows people to sign up for alerts that an aurora may be visible in their area.
Users are also able to report back to the website about whether they saw an aurora, which helps the platform send alerts that the northern lights are being seen in real time – especially in places where they are typically not visible. The information also helps researchers build better models for forecasting, MacDonald said.
"All of this citizen science is really useful, especially during this solar maximum, which is the first when people have all kinds of cell phones that can take images very easily," Macdonald said.
Ultimately, Dahl urged people to practice patience when looking for the northern lights.
"It may not be fully developed yet or be weak, but then it may be suddenly escalate because a substorm kicked in," he said. "So just be patient and take advantage of that."
