When will the northern lights be visible again in Ohio? Aurora could appear in US on Friday

Another solar storm is hurtling its way toward the Earth, and it could bring the aurora borealis back to the United States on Friday.

Will the northern lights shine again over Ohio? Here's what to know.

Geomagnetic storm forecast to arrive on May 31

The Space Weather Prediction Center predicts a moderate geomagnetic storm will arrive the evening of May 31 through the morning of June 1. The center, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, estimates the storm — the result of a coronal mass ejection from a solar flare on May 29 — will be a level 2 out of 5 in intensity.

The storm could make the aurora visible to northern and upper Midwestern states from New York to Idaho, the center reports.

Will the northern lights be visible from Ohio?

While this weekend's solar storm might bring the northern lights to the states, they are unlikely to be visible from Ohio, NOAA spokesperson Erica Grow Cei said in an email Thursday.

If this weekend's geomagnetic storm develops as the SWPC forecasts, it will be a moderate, or G2, storm. According to the NOAA's rating scale, a G2 storm has caused the aurora to be visible in more northern states such as New York and Idaho, but not farther south.

By comparison, the May 10 geomagnetic storm was rated a G5, the most extreme, and made the aurora visible across Ohio and all 50 states, USA TODAY reports.

When will the northern lights be visible again? Aurora could appear in June, possibly June 6

The northern lights could reappear over the United States in June, as the sun's rotation brings the sunspot responsible for the powerful May 10 solar storms around to face the Earth again, according to Live Science.

That sunspot, roughly 15 times the size of the Earth, will be pointed directly at the planet during the new moon on June 6. According to Live Science, that's when the Earth is most likely to be hit by solar weather, potentially pushing the aurora borealis south, into the states and beyond.

Grow Cei says it's not unusual for sunspots to survive a full 27-day rotation and still be present when they return to face the earth.

In fact, she says the solar region responsible for this weekend's storm was "quite magnetically complex -- meaning it was an unstable active region and quite capable of producing activity registering on the NOAA Space Weather Scale" during the previous solar rotation in early May. The SWPC is evaluating the returned region for its flare potential.

NOAA offers aurora dashboard

If you're curious about the latest forecast for the aurora, the NOAA has a tool for that. The Aurora Dashboard offers a visual, animated prediction of where the aurora might be seen in the next few minutes as well as the following day.

For those interested in a deeper dive, the site offers visual examples of how the magnitude of geomagnetic storms affect the aurora, as well as links to learn more about the science behind auroras.

What is the aurora borealis? How do the northern lights work?

Auroras are ribbons of light weaving across Earth's northern or southern polar regions, according to NASA. They are caused by magnetic storms that have been triggered by solar activity, such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections. Energetic charged particles from these events are carried away from the sun by the solar wind.

These energized particles hit the atmosphere at 45 million mph and are redirected to the poles by the earth's magnetic field, according to Space.com, creating the light show.

During major geomagnetic storms, the auroras expand away from the poles and can be seen over some parts of the United States, according to the NOAA.

What is a coronal mass ejection?

NASA describes coronal mass ejections as "huge bubbles of coronal plasma threaded by intense magnetic field lines that are ejected from the sun over the course of several hours." The Akron Beacon Journal reports that the space agency says they often look like "huge, twisted rope" and can occur with solar flares, or explosions on the sun's surface.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: When will the northern lights be visible again in Ohio? What we know