This browser does not support the Video element.
Spectators gather across Bay Area to see Northern Lights
KTVU's Joey Horta reports from the Chabot Space and Science Center in the Oakland Hills.
OAKLAND, Calif. - The aurora borealis will dazzle the night sky in different parts of the U.S. this weekend, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
According to the NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, the ethereal aurora borealis, or northern lights, will be visible in the northern U.S. states on Saturday night.
Forecast models from NOAA feature a red "view line" indicating the southernmost locations from which you may catch a glimpse of the aurora on the northern horizon. The brightness and location of the northern lights are typically shown as a green oval, which turns red when the aurora is forecast to be more intense.
Unfortunately, tthe Bay Area is nowhere near the view line for the light show. However, people in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Washington might be able to spot the aurora’s lights.
Northern California got lucky when a geomagnetic storm hit in early May. The northern lights were visible across some of the Bay Area, primarily where light pollution didn't have a huge impact.
The northern lights occur when a coronal mass ejection, or an eruption of solar material, happens. When that solar material arrives at Earth, it can result in a geomagnetic storm.