Rare aurora suddenly appeared in the US

This is a rare opportunity, because the aurora borealis mainly appears in the Arctic, according to Business Insider.

Specifically, colorful auroras can be seen as far south as the US states of New York, Illinois and Oregon on the evenings of September 18 and 19 (local time).

Aurora Borealis seen in Norway

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center aurora forecast map shows where people might be lucky enough to see the phenomenon. Red areas indicate high-probability forecast areas, green areas indicate low-probability areas, and red lines indicate the southernmost regions where auroras could appear on the northern horizon.

Aurora forecast by NOAA

The phenomenon is due to a large-scale solar eruption, in which charged particles were launched towards Earth on the evening of September 17. According to theory, auroras appear when charged particles from the sun interact with molecules in the Earth's atmosphere, The Washington Post reported.

Normally, these brilliant blue, red, pink, and purple lights only appear around the North or South Pole. That's because Earth's magnetic field lines send a steady stream of particles, called "solar wind," toward the poles.

However, when eruptions or other unusual events occur on the Sun's surface, they can send an extra jet of wind toward Earth, intensifying the aurora and even pushing it closer to the equator.

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