Northern Lights forecast to shine over Canada Thursday night

Northern Lights Forecast to Shine Over Canada Thursday Night

The aurora borealis may illuminate the Canadian night sky on Thursday, offering a vibrant display of shifting colors and patterns. This occurs as an active region of the Sun sends bursts of energy and solar storms into space, creating intense space weather in the days to come.

In recent weeks, both solar astronomers and enthusiasts have witnessed a series of striking solar eruptions. These coronal mass ejections (CMEs), or solar storms, were largely directed away from Earth or originated on the Sun’s far side. Despite their distance, all were traced to one prominent sunspot cluster called Active Region 4274, which recently rotated into view on the Sun's eastern limb.

Observations from Space

Imagery from NOAA’s GOES-19 weather satellite, using the SUVI instrument, shows several luminous active regions on the Sun as of early November. At the center of this view lies a darker spot—an expansive coronal hole marking an area of open magnetic field.

The four inset images from NASA/ESA’s SOHO spacecraft’s LASCO C3 coronagraph depict four massive coronal mass ejections linked to Active Region 4274, highlighted in yellow. (NOAA, NASA/ESA, Scott Sutherland)

Recent Solar Activity

On November 4, an X1.8-class solar flare erupted from AR 4274. This was the most powerful flare since June 19’s X1.9 event and ranks as the fifth strongest of 2025 so far. These energetic emissions could intensify auroral activity visible at higher latitudes across Canada.

Author’s Summary

The Sun’s Active Region 4274 has unleashed powerful solar flares, setting the stage for bright auroras over Canada as space weather conditions intensify this week.

The Weather Network — 2025-11-06