![The Northern Lights are seen here above a U.S. Navy training site in the Beaufort Sea. They will not be seen in Cleveland at this time. [Michael H. Lee / U.S. Navy via AP]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6378577/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1687+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F12%2F10%2Fnorthernlights_web_MichaelHLee_USNAVYviaAP.jpg)
It looks like Northeast Ohio residents won鈥檛 be catching a glimpse of the Northern Lights tonight.
had forecast a pretty strong solar storm would reach earth tonight, a G-3. But on Thursday, that prediction was downgraded to a G-1.
鈥淭here will be a lot of auroral activity, but that will be within about 6 degrees of the North Pole,鈥� said JonDarr Bradshaw, a STEM teacher at the Great Lakes Science Center. 鈥淏ut much south of that you just aren鈥檛 going to be able to see much.鈥�
The Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, are caused by solar storms that take two or three days to reach Earth. Large storms have produced lights seen as far south as Mexico.
鈥淭ypically, they remain near the Arctic Circle,鈥� said Bradshaw. 鈥淭here are places on Earth, particularly near the poles, where you can see them just about every day.鈥�
The federal government watches these events closely because they can harm astronauts and disrupt communications.
鈥淎 solar flare emitting all of that solar radiation can damage your DNA, it can give you cancer,鈥� said Bradshaw. 鈥淪o as we think about going back to the moon and on to Mars, we鈥檙e thinking about countermeasures.鈥�
All hope is not lost, though, for a peek at the Northern Lights in Northeast Ohio. Bradshaw said another solar storm could come at any time.
鈥淭here are just peak periods,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he sun has a cycle and, for whatever reason, the sun has peak cycles about every seven years or so.鈥�
, with a high point expected in 2025.
