Technologies

Aurora Borealis Might Be Visible in the Far North Skies Tonight

There’s a chance for G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm tonight, NOAA space weather forecaster Shawn Dahl tells CNET.

Skygazers in the northern region of the US and Canada might catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights Wednesday night and into Thursday. The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center 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 phenomenon called coronal mass ejections. These surging ejections of solar wind come from the corona, the sun’s outermost layer. CMEs consist of plasma and magnetic fields and 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 arrived earlier on Tuesday, spaceweather.com reported.

NOAA space weather forecaster Shawn Dahl told CNET there’s a chance for G4 (severe) levels, should the magnetic field of the CME become favorable.

«By this, I mean the magnetic field of the CME needs to be opposite that of Earth’s to get a good geomagnetic reaction,» Dahl said. «Think of it like opposite polarity magnets that attract.»

Where can you see the aurora?

Most places in the US won’t have an opportunity to see the aurora borealis, but people in the most northern regions (especially Alaska) and Canada might get a chance to see the lights. However, clouds, rain and snow might make it hard to see.

For the best chance of seeing it, according to Accuweather, 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 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 Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, April 20

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 20.

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

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword has a lot of Os and a couple of Qs, so think of words containing those letters. It helps if you know your basketball players and your electric cars, too. No Easter theme, despite the holiday. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Speaking confidently but dishonestly
Answer: GLIB

5A clue: Traditional dance at a Jewish wedding
Answer: HORA

6A clue: «Scram!»
Answer: GOAWAY

8A clue: Hyundai electric car with a creatively spelled name
Answer: IONIQ

9A clue: Hoops legend with size 22 shoes
Answer: SHAQ

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Africa’s largest exporter of gold
Answer: GHANA

2D clue: Score that’s nowhere near Mensa-worthy
Answer: LOWIQ

3D clue: Baghdad’s country
Answer: IRAQ

4D clue: Loading area for trucks
Answer: BAY

6D clue: Army soldiers, for short
Answer: GIS

7D clue: ___ and aah
Answer: OOH

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 20, #209

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 209, for April 20.

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.

Connections: Sports Edition felt kind of easy today. The purple group is as weird as ever, but if you get the other three, you don’t even have to worry about that category. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it 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: Nike makes it.

Green group hint: Stationary bike.

Blue group hint: Bills are in this group.

Purple group hint: Fishermen use these.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Athletic footwear.

Green group: Gym equipment.

Blue group: AFC East teams.

Purple group: Things with nets.

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 athletic footwear. The four answers are boots, cleats, sneakers and spikes.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is gym equipment. The four answers are elliptical, medicine ball, rowing machine and treadmill.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is AFC East teams. The four answers are Buffalo, Miami, New England and New York.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is things with nets. The four answers are basketball hoop, Brooklyn, soccer goal, tennis courts.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for April 20, #413

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 413 for April 20, Easter Sunday.

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.

If you know what holiday today is, then the new NYT Strands puzzle should be a breeze. The New York Times doesn’t always theme its puzzles to holidays, but it went all-out with this one. 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: On the hunt.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Today’s holiday.

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:

CRAB, BRAT, TONE, RACK, DENT, YEAST, EAST, CANE, CHOP, BUSY, COLA, SACK.

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’ve got 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: