Every time news sites (including this one) write about the northern lights, I always wonder if people really got to see it. This time around, the aurora borealis display, which should be visible in some areas through Aug. 1, wasn't expected to match the May 10-11 event, But people are definitely enjoying the breathtaking skies. A photographer in my home state of Minnesota snapped a beautiful image of the aurora over the water in Grand Marais. And closer to where I live now, another photographer captured an amazing image of the aurora borealis just before dawn in Oregon. Read on for tips on how best to seek out the northern lights. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center first posted a geomagnetic storm watch running through July 31 but later Monday extended that watch through Aug. 1. "A number of complex sunspot groups are present on the visible solar disk and solar activity has increased, to include an R3 (strong) solar flare Sunday evening," the center posted. "A number of (coronal mass ejections) have been associated with the increased activity, and at least four of these have anticipated Earth-directed components, with possible arrivals beginning Tuesday on into Thursday." A coronal mass ejection is essentially a break in the sun's magnetic field, which causes an explosion that launches solar particles into space. Those solar particles are now are on their way to Earth, where they can cause a geomagnetic storm. The center issued a G3 storm watch, referring to a strong storm, for July 30, and a G2 storm watch, referring to a moderate storm, for July 31-Aug. 1. The May 10-11 event was seen even in areas that don't usually get to see the aurora borealis and was rated a G5, or extreme storm. This one won't be that strong, but keep your hopes up, depending on where you live. O espetáculo da aurora boreal está visível em algumas áreas até 1º de agosto O fenômeno não é tão intenso quanto o evento de 10 a 11 de maio Dicas de como buscar a aurora boreal e previsões sobre sua visibilidade
