SPOKANE, Wash.– Conditions could line up for a double feature in the night skies over the Inland Northwest. The Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend and at least two solar storms could bring out the Northern Lights.
Two Coronal Mass Ejections erupted from the sun on Wednesday and Thursday. They should reach Earth sometime this weekend. If we are on the nighttime side of Earth at that time, they’ll light up the northern sky with the Aurora Borealis. You can check the latest Kp value here. It needs to be five or higher to have a chance to see the Aurora.
At the same time, the constellation Perseus will rise in the Northeast shortly after sunset. The Perseid meteors will appear just to the left of Perseus throughout the night. At its peak on Sunday night, you could see up to 100 meteors every hour.
Haze from wildfire smoke and clouds leftover from afternoon thunderstorms may interrupt your view around sunset. Your best bet to see one or both of these astronomical events is to wait until 11 p.m. or later to find a dark spot to look.
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