We are fortunate indeed here in the Great Land to be able to see gorgeous natural vistas and phenomena that most of the country sees rarely, if ever. One my my wife's and my backhanded brags, when we have the opportunity to point out that natural beauty to visitors, is to point out that for most people, Alaska is a once- or twice-in-a-lifetime vacation, and we live here.

Case in point: We spent last New Year's Eve up at the lodge, where we had a room booked for the night so we could fully enjoy the evening. The family that runs the lodge had prepared a fireworks show for midnight, so when that hour approached, we all trooped out onto the deck - and the fireworks show was delayed by a natural show, as we all stood, entranced, as a brilliant aurora whipped and flickered overhead, electric green and brilliant blue.

Now, a lot of people in the lower 48 may be treated to just such a show.

Thursday night and for a few nights to come, much of the northern tier of the United States will be sharing that view with us Alaskans.

Some U.S. states could be treated to a northern lights display thanks to a minor geomagnetic storm on the sun, according to space forecasts.

Another round of aurora borealis is expected on Thursday night, with a predicted Kp index of magnitude four out of nine, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center.

The northernmost states in the U.S. have the highest chances of seeing the northern lights, including Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, NOAA's aurora viewline map shows.

Turns out that this may last a while.

In October, the sun's magnetic field reached its solar maximum in its 11-year cycle, according to NASA. When sunspots produce a solar flare, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are bursts of magnetized plasma emitted from the sun's corona, travel toward Earth as part of the solar wind, manifesting in a dazzling light show of luminous greens and pinks as the material interacts with Earth's magnetic field.

The lead-up to the solar maximum resulted in the best northern lights display in 500 years in May, when a series of powerful solar storms made the lights visible as far south as Alabama.

Of course, those states listed, aside from us here in Alaska, are also gifted with nights where it gets dark enough to see the auroras; in summer, here, through much of the summer the sky, even at midnight, is still lit up by a sun that's just below the horizon.

See Also: Aurora Borealis, Shining Down on Dallas

Alaska Man Monday - Auroras, Bear Attacks, and Undersized Moose

You can get really good photos of the auroras even if they don't look all that impressive to the unaided eye. Most modern digital cameras and even smartphones have a night setting, where the camera will take a 3-5 second time exposure. This requires a tripod or a good, steady hand, but some of the most brilliant aurora pictures we have taken here in the Great Land have been taken in just this way.

Life can be, and all too often is, stressful. Taking the opportunity to soak in a little natural beauty, I find, always helps. If you're in the northern U.S., you may have an opportunity to just that - and to record the event to enjoy later. 

Here in Alaska, we're a little spoiled in that we get to see the auroras pretty frequently. But the great thing about something like this is that we can share it and still have it. The auroras are coming, and they are gorgeous. Check it out!

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