Northern Lights could make appearance later this week

A strong solar storm is in progress, and for those ever hoping to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights, its timing couldn't be better.

Spaceweather.com says not one, but two coronal mass ejections (CMEs -- fancy word for solar flares) have erupted and are speeding toward Earth.

Their expected arrival is Friday for the first one and Saturday for the second one, which means both Friday night and Saturday night could see a display of the Northern Lights. Weather Service officials said people can see the phenomenon best between 9 p.m. and midnight.

It's a near slam dunk for the higher latitudes, but Oregonians have a chance to get a peek if the stars align.

The forecast is for skies to be clear through the night for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Plus now that we're into September, the nights are longer, giving us a longer window to see the show.

Best viewing tips are to find a dark location away from city lights with a clear view of the northern horizon.

And to prove you can get a nice show this far south, here is time lapse video from our last event last month by Eddie Murdock. Note that the camera does a much better job picking up the colors with longer exposures than the naked eye so it didn't look this intense to someone standing next to the camera, but still, quite a dazzling display



A map of the viewing conditions for this weekend's Norhtern Lights from Accuweather.com