Northern Lights are visible across Midwest — and Indiana may get another show Wednesday

Hoosiers caught a rare showing of the Northern Lights this week. 

A strong solar storm may make the aurora visible across parts of Indiana again Wednesday night, according to weather forecasters. The University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute shows Indiana among several states where the Northern Lights lit up the sky. 

Forecasters there predict “high aurora activity” as powerful bursts of solar energy — known as coronal mass ejections — reach Earth’s atmosphere. The colorful glow happens when those charged particles collide with gases above Earth, creating ripples of light.

Dr. Aarran Shaw, director of the Holcomb Observatory and Planetarium in Indianapolis, said there’s “a good chance of aurorae again tonight.”

Shaw said the pink and green hues come from solar particles colliding with nitrogen in the atmosphere, while rarer blues and reds come from oxygen. 

Experts recommend getting as far away from city lights as possible — like a dark spot in the countryside or a state park — for the best chance to see them. They say the ideal viewing time is usually within an hour or two of midnight.

“It’s a really amazing sight,” Shaw said. “We’re so lucky to have had them reach this far south a few times in the last year.”

Farrah Anderson is an investigative health reporter with WFYI and Side Effects Public Media. You can follow her on X at @farrahsoa or by email at fanderson@wfyi.org.