Technologies

Aurora Borealis May Hit These 16 States Over the Next 2 Days

Tuesday night’s aurora is expected to be stronger than Wednesday’s.

Alongside fireworks and drone shows, people will have another excuse to look up at the sky this week, at least in select parts of the US. The sun has graced Earth with another round of solar material, which will interact with our atmosphere and make sections of the sky glow. Of course, we’re talking about the aurora borealis, and it’ll be visible in 16 states on Tuesday and Wednesday night.

Of the two days, Tuesday night into Wednesday morning will be your best shot. The Space Weather Prediction Center is forecasting a Kp 5 magnetic storm that’s scheduled to hit over six hours starting late Monday evening. The K-Index measures the horizontal impact of geomagnetic storms, and a Kp 5 rating results in what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calls a «moderate» aurora.

Things will calm down a bit Wednesday night going into Thursday morning, with the aurora pulling back a little and being less visible, unless you’re on the northern border with Canada. NOAA is forecasting a Kp 4 magnetic storm that night.

Which states could see the aurora borealis?

According to the Space Weather Prediction Center, Tuesday night’s aurora will be visible in Alaska, Washington state, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and the northernmost sections of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and most of Maine.

Alaska and Canada will have the best views by a wide margin, with the entire state of Alaska getting coverage. Technically, there will also be a slice of Oregon, putting the full number at 16, but unless you live on the northeastern tip, you likely won’t see anything.

Much like with the Earth’s weather, space weather prediction can be hit or miss. So if you’re in any of the above states, it’s worth taking a look if you’re up that late. The magnetic storm may be slightly stronger or weaker than forecast, which will affect how far south the northern lights reach. This event won’t be as strong as the epic show we saw in May 2024.

Tips on viewing the northern lights

The standard space viewing tips all apply here. You’ll get a better view if you get away from the city and suburbs to avoid light pollution. Weather will play a role as well, since any clouds will obfuscate the view. If you attempt to photograph the aurora, we recommend using long exposure times to give your camera more time to soak in the light.

Other than that, you’ll want to look toward the northern horizon to give yourself the best chance at a good view, since (as you may’ve guessed) that’s where the northern lights originate.

Technologies

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for July 3, #487

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for July 3, No. 487.

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 is a fun one, and it made me a bit hungry. 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: Beyond vanilla

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: We all scream…

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:

CREST, CHAT, REST, PEES, CHAR, BORE, CORE, SIMP, TORE, SECT, FEST, MIST, CAMP, CHEST

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:

CHERRY, COFFEE, BROWNIE, PISTACHIO, BUTTERSCOTCH

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is ICECREAM. To find it, look for the I that’s three letters to the right on the bottom row, and wind up.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for July 3, #753

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for July 3, #753.

Looking for the most recent 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, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle could be tough. The green category came together quickly for me, but purple, as usual, was tricky. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

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

Yellow group hint: Let’s discuss.

Green group hint: Before a trip.

Blue group hint: Sports stars.

Purple group hint: E-I-E-I-O.