Missed the Overhyped Sky Lights? Here's Another Chance to Gawk Like an Idiot

If you were too busy being a loser in your mom's basement and missed the supposedly "beautiful" red, blue, and purple lights Thursday, buckle up, because Friday night might give you another chance to be disappointed.

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center says the Strong (G3) Geomagnetic Storm Watch will be visible. Because apparently, staring at colorful lights in the sky is the highlight of your pathetic existence.

“The underlying cause for this activity is decreasing as it passes over Earth, something called the coronal mass ejection, or CME for short,” Shawn Dahl, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center Service Coordinator, told USA TODAY. “What that is a discharge and explosion of solar material and strong magnetic fields, and in this case, this happened the evening of the 8th of October and it arrived in force yesterday morning here."

"And it is busy throughout the day with activity and severe storm levels with the type of response it provided," he added.

For those of you who actually care about this crap, monitor the prediction center's website for updates and conditions. Who knows, maybe you'll actually get to see something other than your own reflection on a computer screen.

Which States Get to Waste Their Time Staring at the Sky?

According to the Aurora forecast tracker by the University of Alaska, the northern lights may be visible low on the horizon from Seattle, Des Moines, Chicago, Cleveland, and Boston between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET. Because who doesn't love watching colored lights instead of doing something productive?

Dahl says that the light show will be seen in many states in the upper half of the United States.

"Mainly, if we're reaching the G1 levels primarily as far Northern tier states, especially in the far upper Midwest up to the North Dakota, Minnesota areas," he said. "If we're a little stronger than that and hitting moderate levels, it'll extend a little further South to the Dakotas and that kind of the viewing parameter based off the normal green Aurora."

This one can also be a photo opportunity for many onlookers. Oh joy, something else to fill your Instagram feed with while you ignore real problems.

"We can anticipate people see in the Red Aurora capture it with their cameras."

Here are some of the states that will have a higher chance of catching a glimpse of the aurora, according to the University of Alaska:

• Illinois
• Iowa
• Massachusetts
• Ohio
• Washington
• Wisconsin

What the Hell Are Northern Lights Anyway?

The northern lights, or aurora borealis, materialize when energized particles from the sun reach Earth's upper atmosphere at speeds of up to 45 million mph, according to Space.com. Earth's magnetic field redirects the particles toward the poles through a process that produces a stunning display of rays, spirals, and flickers that has fascinated humans for millennia. Because apparently, humans have nothing better to do than stare at the sky.

Why Do We Even Care About Different Colors?

Dahl explains that the molecules within our atmosphere play a role in what colors appear in the sky.

"A lot of times when the Aurora develops its interaction in lower levels of the atmosphere, that interact with types of molecules that send off green light," he said. "Red has not been seen as of late 'cause that's usually taking place much higher, almost double the altitude of where we're seeing the green colored Aurora. That's just because of the different states of energy and particles up there."

Will We Get Another Chance to Pretend We Care?

Skygazers, you're in luck! Dahl says it's likely that the northern lights will be visible again this year and for years to come.

"It's quite likely that the Aurora's gonna develop again before the end of the year," he said. "We're not done. We're gonna be on this roller coaster ride of solar maximum the rest of this year, all of next year and even 2026."

This article has been updated to add new information.

Contributing: Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY.

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.