The Northern Lights Will Be Visible Over the U.S. on Wednesday. Here's How to See It.

The northern lights won't be visible over all of the US, but many states across the north are in for a treat the night of February 27. The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) has issued a G1 geomagnetic storm alert for that evening due to the influence of coronal hole high-speed stream, which can push the northern lights further south than it might otherwise appear.

There will be other reasons to look up that night as well. Mercury will be at its closest approach to Earth for the year and can be seen in the western sky just after sundown. That's about the same time you should be out aurora hunting if you're in the right part of the country.

The SWPC, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), didn't share a new map for this alert, but above you can see a map for a November 2018 alert. The green line represents the southern edge of where the northern lights might be seen. That means, should the weather cooperate, you could see the display in parts of Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Maine. Additionally, you should be able to spot it throughout Canada outside of small parts of southern Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.

Of course, the aurora should also be visible in Alaska, but that's nothing new. Parts of Alaska are among the best spots to go searching for the aurora.

How To See the Northern Lights
The SWPC's 3-Day Forecast has the alert running from 5-11pm EST on February 27. It will definitely be too bright at the start of the window. However, once the sun has fully set, you could have a great opportunity to see the display up until the end of that time frame as things currently stand.

To get a view of the bucket list spectacle, you need to get away from the light pollution of the city. An SWPC representative previously told Thrillist, "You need very clear skies, a good view of the northern horizon (no trees, buildings, or hills), and it needs to be dark." The view is necessary because, outside of far-north regions, the lights will largely appear on the northern horizon rather than directly overhead.

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