Technologies

The Aurora Borealis Might Be Visible in the Northern US Tonight

The Northern Lights come from a solar wind that erupted from the sun over the weekend.

Skygazers in the northern region of the US and Canada might catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights as soon as tonight and into tomorrow. The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center just issued a G3 (strong) geomagnetic storm watch for April 16, when plasma ejected from the sun is expected to reach Earth’s magnetic field. Minor geomagnetic storm conditions are likely to carry on until April 17, the agency reported.

The colorful lights splashed across the night sky are caused by geomagnetic storms in our atmosphere and the SWPC pays attention to when these might occur. Geomagnetic storms in the atmosphere can arise from a cosmic phenomena called coronal mass ejections (CME). These surging ejections of solar wind come from the corona, the sun’s outermost layer. CMEs consist of plasma and magnetic field, and they can take hours or days to reach Earth.

When CMEs arrive, they cause disturbances in our atmosphere by disrupting our planet’s magnetic field. This creates geomagnetic storms. Coming sooner than expected, the first CME actually arrived earlier today, spaceweather.com reports.

As a result, a G1 (minor) geomagnetic storm is currently raging in our atmosphere. It’s still too soon to tell if this is the first of two CMEs that erupted from the sun on Sunday, or if one CME «ate» the other one to make this a cannibal combination. Forecasters say the storm is strengthening into a G3-class.

Where can you see the aurora?

Most places in the US won’t have an opportunity to see the aurora borealis, but people in US regions as far south as Iowa, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wyoming might get a chance to see the lights, according to Accuweather. However, clouds, rain and snow might make it hard to see.

For the best chance of seeing it, you’ll need to have an unobstructed view of the northern horizon and be using long-exposure photography to capture images of the phenomenon.

The Northern Lights have certain times of year when they’re more likely to be observed. You have the best chance of catching aurora borealis in March, April, September and October, as these are the months near the spring and autumn equinoxes, when the Earth’s position to the sun is ideal for geomagnetic storms.

«The equinoxes are the transition points between which hemisphere is tilted toward the sun,» Shannon Schmoll, director of the Abrams Planetarium, told CNET last month. «At this point, the Earth’s magnetic field is at a more favorable angle, closer to perpendicular, that allows easier interaction of the charged solar particles with the Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere.»

April is a good month for watching the Northern Lights because we’re at Solar Maximum — the period of the highest solar activity in the 11-year solar cycle.

«During this time, we expect to see more sunspots, and therefore there’s a higher chance of high-impact space weather occurring on any given day,» Elsayed Talaat, director of the Office of Space Weather Observations at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said last October.

So, if you live in a place where the aurora borealis might be visible tonight, make sure to head away from city lights and check out the night sky to the north.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Please don’t eat me!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

AZALEA, HEMLOCK, FOXGLOVE, OLEANDER, BELLADONNA

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is POISONOUS. To find it, look for the P that is the first letter on the far left of the top row, and wind down and across.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 23, #395

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 395.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has one of those crazy purple categories, where you wonder if anyone saw the connection, or if people just put that grouping together because only those four words were left. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Fan noise.

Green group hint: Strategies for hoops.

Blue group hint: Minor league.

Purple group hint: Look for a connection to hoops.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Sounds from the crowd.

Green group: Basketball offenses.

Blue group: Triple-A baseball teams.

Purple group: Ends with a basketball stat.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is sounds from the crowd. The four answers are boo, cheer, clap and whistle.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is basketball offenses. The four answers are motion, pick and roll, Princeton and triangle.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is triple-A baseball teams. The four answers are Aces, Jumbo Shrimp, Sounds and Storm Chasers.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends with a basketball stat. The four answers are afoul, bassist, counterpoint and sunblock.

Technologies

Amazon’s Delivery Drivers Will Soon Wear AI Smart Glasses to Work

The goal is to streamline the delivery process while keeping drivers safe.

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it is developing new AI-powered smart glasses to simplify the delivery experience for its drivers. CNET smart glasses expert Scott Stein mentioned this wearable rollout last month, and now the plan is in its final testing stages.

The goal is to simplify package delivery by reducing the need for drivers to look at their phones, the label on the package they’re delivering and their surroundings to find the correct address.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

A heads-up display will activate as soon as the driver parks, pointing out potential hazards and tasks that must be completed. From there, drivers can locate and scan packages, follow turn-by-turn directions and snap a photograph to prove delivery completion without needing to take out their phone.

The company is testing the glasses in select North American markets.

Watch: See our Instagram post with a video showing the glasses

A representative for Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

To fight battery drain, the glasses pair with a controller attached to the employee’s delivery vest, allowing them to replace depleted batteries and access operational controls. The glasses will support an employee’s eyeglass prescription. An emergency button will be within reach to ensure the driver’s safety.

Amazon is already planning future versions of the glasses, which will feature «real-time defect detection,» notifying the driver if a package was delivered to the incorrect address. They plan to add features to the glasses to detect if pets are in the yard and adjust to low light.