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Northern Lights could light up across the US this weekend thanks to a giant hole in the Sun’s atmosphere — here’s where to see them

Nypost · · 352 words · By Ben Cost
open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/04/17/science/aurora-may-be-visible-in-various-us-states…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

12 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

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help Insufficient Evidence 2
schedule Pending 2
info Single Source 1
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“Stargazers could potentially glimpse the aurora borealis in parts of the Northern US this Friday and Saturday, thanks to a large hole that’s opened up in the Sun’s atmosphere.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results report that the aurora borealis might be visible in the Northern US on Friday and Saturday due to a coronal hole in the Sun's atmosphere. The evidence points to this specific prediction.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Friday
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century AD, the Romans named Saturday diēs Sāturnī ("Saturn's Day") for the god Saturn. His planet, Saturn, controlled …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The weekdays and weekend are the complementary parts of the week, devoted to labour and rest, respectively. The legal weekdays (British English), or workweek (American English), is the part of the sev…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workweek_and_weekend
+ 3 more evidence sources
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““The aurora may become visible over some Northern and upper Midwest states from New York to Idaho,” wrote the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center in a Facebook post.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web search results directly quote or paraphrase the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center stating that the aurora might be visible over Northern and upper Midwest states from New York to Idaho.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In telecommunications, communications blackouts are a cessation of communications or communications capability, caused by a lack of power to a communications facility or to communications equipment. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_blackout
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), named the Space Environment Center (SEC) until 2007, is a laboratory and service center of the US National Weather Service (NWS), part of the National Ocean…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Weather_Prediction_Cente…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Weather Prediction Center (WPC), located in College Park, Maryland, is one of nine service centers under the umbrella of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), a part of the Nat…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_Prediction_Center
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“They explained that this luminous display can be traced back to a large hole that appeared in the sun’s corona, the outermost layer of its atmosphere, according to Spaceweather.com.”
CORROBORATED
Two separate web search results confirm that the luminous display (aurora) is linked to a large hole in the Sun's corona, citing sources similar to Spaceweather.com.
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web search NEUTRAL — Why this aurora event stands out This weekend's aurora forecast is driven by a large coronal hole in the sun's corona, allowing high-speed solar wind to escape.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/giant-coronal-hole-to-s…
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web search NEUTRAL — The Northern Lights or aurora borealis may be visible in the U.S. this week due to a coronal hole and a "co-rotating interaction region" in the solar wind.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2025/04/22/no…
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web search NEUTRAL — They explained that this luminous display can be traced back to a large hole that appeared in the sun's corona, the outermost layer of its atmosphere, according to Spaceweather.com.
https://nypost.com/2026/04/17/science/aurora-may-be-visible-…
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“These “coronal holes,” as they’re called, are where the sun’s magnetic fields open up, allowing solar wind to escape into the cosmos at high speeds known as High Speed Streams (HSS).”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results and Wikipedia entries consistently define coronal holes as regions where open magnetic field lines allow solar wind to escape, resulting in fast solar wind streams (HSS).
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Carrington Event was the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history, peaking on 1–2 September 1859 during solar cycle 10. It created strong auroral displays that were reported globally and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A coronal hole is a region of the Sun's corona that appears dark in extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) and soft-X-ray images because its plasma is cooler and more rarefied than the surrounding corona. Despite …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronal_hole
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The heliosphere is the magnetosphere, astrosphere, and outermost atmospheric layer of the Sun. It takes the shape of a vast, tailed bubble-like region of space. In plasma physics terms, it is the cavi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliosphere
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“NOAA is predicting that this these latest HSS’ could result in a Moderate (G2) storm conditions from 5pm EST Friday until roughly 2am EST Saturday.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While multiple sources discuss G2 storms and NOAA predictions, the specific prediction of 'Moderate (G2) storm conditions from 5pm EST Friday until roughly 2am EST Saturday' is not independently corroborated by multiple sources; the evidence shows general G2 predictions but not this exact timeline.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Alaska ( ə-LASS-kə) is a non-contiguous U.S. state located in the northwestern regions of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska
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web search NEUTRAL — Similar to the bulletins put out by the NWS local forecast offices, SWPC provides Alerts, Watches and Warnings to the public at large about what to expect from Space Weather. These bulletins are level…
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/alerts-watches-and-warnin…
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web search NEUTRAL — Aug 7, 2025 · In this case, a rapid, intense flash of electromagnetic energy ranks as a G1-G2 on NOAA's scale, indicating a minor-moderate geomagnetic storm that could cause "manageable effects to som…
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/geomagnetic-storm-trigge…
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“This could result in minor to moderate radio blackouts and, of course, powerful auroras.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results link geomagnetic storms (G1 or G2) to the potential for minor to moderate radio blackouts and powerful auroras.
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web search NEUTRAL — This material can cause geomagnetic storms when it interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field. NOAA is predicting a possibility for mild to moderate geomagnetic storms due to the ejections that escaped…
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/2025/10/16/northern…
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web search NEUTRAL — Aurora outlook: • Expected intensity tonight: Late-evening activity rising toward storm levels, with Kp climbing toward 5 • December 9 peak: Forecast Kp up to 6.67 — strong G2 to G3 conditions • Why: …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tiJl1-r--4
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web search NEUTRAL — "G1 (Minor) or greater geomagnetic storms are anticipated on 09 Jan due to a coronal high-speed stream interacting with a potential glancing blow from a CME that left the Sun on 06 Jan," says the Nati…
https://www.greenmatters.com/pn/northern-lights-may-be-visib…
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“The latter is generated when the charged particles from the sun interact with the magnetic field lines toward the poles, crashing into the nitrogen and oxygen molecules and prompting them to emit energy in the form of shimmering lights.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results describe the mechanism of auroras: charged particles from the Sun interact with Earth's magnetic field toward the poles, causing atmospheric gases (nitrogen and oxygen) to emit light.
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web search NEUTRAL — An aurora (pl. aurorae or auroras) is a natural light display in Earth’s upper atmosphere caused by charged particles from the Sun colliding with atoms in the atmosphere.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora
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web search NEUTRAL — The latter is generated when the charged particles from the sun interact with the magnetic field lines toward the poles, crashing into the nitrogen and oxygen molecules and prompting them to emit ener…
https://nypost.com/2026/04/17/science/aurora-may-be-visible-…
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web search NEUTRAL — The aurora borealis forms when charged particles ejected from the Sun during solar storms interact with Earth’s magnetic field and collide with gases in the upper atmosphere.
https://watchers.news/epicenter/what-causes-the-aurora-borea…
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“Along with the Empire State and Idaho, the geomagnetic fireworks display could be visible in Alaska, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin, Livescience reported.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web search results list the exact set of states (Alaska, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin) where the display could be visible, alongside the mention of the 'Empire State' (New York) and Idaho.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of events of the year 2025 in the United States. Following his election victory in November 2024, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States and be…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_in_the_United_States
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (, SASS-kwotch; , SASS-kwahtch), is a large, hairy, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigfoot
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help
“It could also potentially grace the skies in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Wyoming.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results or Wikipedia entries to confirm the claim that the aurora could be visible in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, and Wyoming.
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“The viewing conditions could be enhanced by the dark sky during Friday’s new moon.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results or Wikipedia entries regarding the viewing conditions being enhanced by the dark sky during Friday's new moon.
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“The aurora can be captured using a mirrorless or DSLR camera or by using the Night Mode or Pro Mode settings on the newest smartphones, Forbes reported.”
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“For optimal results, aurora hunters are urged to use their main lens rather than the ultra-wide setting and stabilize.”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.