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A northern lights show is possible Tuesday evening in the skies above us. 

It’s always difficult to precisely forecast northern lights, but some of the elements appear to be in place Tuesday evening. You may want to look outside between dusk and midnight to see if there’s a show.

Sunspot region 4274 on the sun is active and facing earth. That region has sent a wave of so called coronal mass ejections (CME’s) toward earth. 

Multiple bursts of solar energy can merge and create what’s referred to as a “

” where one wave basically absorbs (eats) another. The result can be a stronger pulse heading toward earth.

The best chance for seeing northern lights Tuesday evening is across northern regions into Canada.

So it’s not a sure thing, but you may want to take a look or two outside to the north Tuesday evening before midnight. Strong northern lights shows can be seen in the city, but it’s always best to get away from city light, especially to your northern horizon.

If the inbound CME reacts with earth’s magnetosphere in the right way, the result can be vivid northern lights displays. Colors can vary depending on which atoms get triggered by the solar energy. Here’s a 

description from space.com about why auroras turn different colors.

Skies should be clear across most of Minnesota, but some clouds will likely linger in the northeast Tuesday evening. Here’s NOAA’s FV3 cloud forecast for 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

A northern lights show is possible above Minnesota Tuesday evening.

Rare 'Cannibal CME' may trigger northern lights show Tuesday evening

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