Will the northern lights brighten Vancouver's sky soon? Expert weighs in
It could be happening again, aurora-chasers — the northern lights might be visible once again in Metro Vancouver.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States has issued an alert for a geomagnetic storm watch.
Astronomer Marley Leacock at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre explained that a geomagnetic storm can increase geomagnetic activity and, in some cases, result in aurora.
You might remember the excitement (and “utter chaos”) that broke out in BC in early May after a magical aurora borealis lit up the sky. An unusually strong geomagnetic storm caused the rare phenomenon, which had British Columbians in awe.
However, Leacock said the big storm earlier this month was a geomagnetic storm classified as a G5, “and that’s like the top of the scale that you can get, the strongest storm you can get.”
The alert was put out for Friday, May 31, until Saturday, June 1, which is only a G2.
“So it’s a much more moderate storm. It’s a lot weaker than the G5,” Leacock said. “It could lead to aurora, but it would not be as dramatic as what we saw in early May.”
If you’re trying to catch a glimpse of the northern lights on Friday or Saturday, Leacock suggests the best thing you can do is leave light-polluted areas like cities so your eyes have a better time potting the aurora.
“For spotting aurora, what people tend to see first is not necessarily the bright, colourful shows and displays… but it’s more like a gray with the clouds moving in a way that clouds don’t move,” she said.
After you notice this, you can try using your phone camera, as these are better at collecting light than our eyes.
“If you hold your phone up to that area, then the colour starts to come through,” she advised.
Also, you’ll want to look towards the horizon instead of straight up in the sky.
“Auroras do appear straight up in the sky and you don’t necessarily have to look north either, [but that is] especially depending on how far down that auroral region goes.”
Watching the northern lights is also very weather-dependent. Unfortunately, as of Thursday evening, Environment and Climate Change Canada’s forecast suggests it will be rainy and cloudy in Vancouver on Friday and Saturday.
Other parts of Canada may see the aurora, depending on the weather and whether it’s on the same latitude as Vancouver. However, the further north you can go, the better your chance.
If you’ve been out of luck and have missed the northern lights displays recently, Leacock said there may be more chances you can see it.
“The reason this is happening more and more is because the sun is actually heading towards its peak active time,” she explained. “So the sun runs on an 11-year cycle, and we’re right almost at the peak of solar activity. So there’s still chances for more auroral shows that possibly happen as the sun ramps up activity.”
“Maybe we’ll get another shot,” she said.
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