The Sun Sent Us a Gift! Northern Lights May Glow Tonight
Quick Summary
A large “hole” in the Sun’s outer atmosphere has been pointing toward Earth, sending a stream of fast-moving particles our way. Scientists say that stream should arrive tonight, July 21, and could make the Northern Lights visible in parts of the northern United States and other countries.
What Happened?
The Sun is not perfectly smooth. It has regions called coronal holes — areas where the Sun’s magnetic field opens up like a gate, letting streams of charged particles rush out into space at incredible speed.
A large coronal hole recently rotated around to the side of the Sun facing Earth. The super-fast particles it released — called the solar wind — have been traveling through space ever since. Scientists predict they will reach Earth’s magnetic field late tonight, Tuesday, July 21.
The solar wind is currently traveling at around 325 kilometers per second. That is already incredibly fast — like traveling from New York to Los Angeles in about 13 seconds! When the coronal hole’s stream arrives, it could push speeds to roughly 700 kilometers per second. That is more than twice as fast!
When these particles smash into Earth’s magnetic field and trickle into the upper atmosphere near the poles, they make the air glow. That glow is what we call the aurora — or the Northern Lights in the north, and the Southern Lights near the South Pole.
Forecasters from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center expect a minor to moderate geomagnetic storm, called a G1 or possibly G2 event, tonight and continuing into Wednesday, July 22. The UK’s Met Office also confirmed aurora could become visible from northern Scotland.
People living in northern U.S. states like Washington, Montana, and Michigan — especially near the Canadian border — may have a chance to spot the lights. So might skywatchers in Scotland, Scandinavia, and southern parts of New Zealand and Australia.
There is one small catch: it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, which means short nights. And a first-quarter moon will add some extra glow to the sky. For the best chance, find a dark spot away from city lights and look north after midnight.
Why Does It Matter?
Auroras are one of the most spectacular natural light shows on Earth. They remind us that the Sun has a huge effect on our planet — even from 93 million miles away!
Space weather events like this one can also slightly affect satellites, radio signals, and power grids. Scientists track solar wind carefully so they can warn engineers to protect their equipment when needed.
Big Words
- Coronal hole — a region on the Sun’s surface where the magnetic field opens up, allowing fast streams of particles to escape into space
- Solar wind — a constant flow of charged particles streaming outward from the Sun in all directions
- Aurora — a colorful natural light display in the sky near Earth’s poles, caused by solar particles colliding with the atmosphere; called the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) in the north
- Geomagnetic storm — a disturbance in Earth’s magnetic field caused by solar wind; rated on a scale from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme)
- Charged particles — tiny pieces of atoms that carry an electric charge; the solar wind is made up mostly of electrons and protons
Fun Fact
The Northern Lights can appear in many different colors! Green is the most common, but they can also glow pink, red, purple, and even blue — depending on which gases in the atmosphere the solar particles hit and how high up the collision happens.
Think About It
The Sun is 93 million miles away, yet it can make Earth’s sky light up with colors. What else do you notice that the Sun affects here on Earth, even from so far away?
Sources
- EarthSky — Sun news: Fast solar wind on its way to Earth (July 20, 2026)
- Forbes — Northern Lights Could Be Visible From 10 States Overnight Tuesday (July 20, 2026)
- UK Met Office Space Weather Forecast — July 21–22 coronal hole high-speed stream
- TechTimes — Coronal Hole to Push Solar Wind Past 700 km/s, Bringing Possible Aurora to Seattle and Oslo