Technologies

The Aurora Borealis Is Back: These 18 States Have a Chance to See It Tonight

Prepare to get away from city lights if you want to see the colorful sky show.

August has started heavy for skygazers. We are days away from August’s sturgeon full moon and the peak of the Perseids meteor shower. Before those celestial events get underway, however, it seems that another sighting of the aurora borealis may be visible in up to 18 US states on Friday night.

Those states can be broken up into three categories. The first are states that will almost certainly see an aurora — if conditions allow — and include Alaska, Washington, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Next are the states that should at least see something, which include the northern portions of Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, Michigan and Maine.

Finally, the states that may see something under the best possible conditions will be Iowa, northern Nebraska, Illinois, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. The very northern reaches of Indiana and Ohio may see something, but it’s unlikely.

This week’s aurora comes to Earth courtesy of an M-class solar flare that the sun ejected on Tuesday. It was one of several solar flares observed in what has been a very active week for the sun, but this particular M-class flare was pointed right at Earth when it erupted. According to NOAA, the best times to see the aurora has passed, as it was Thursday night into Friday morning. But Friday night into Saturday morning will also be a good time for the states bordering Canada.

Tips for watching the northern lights

The standard space viewing tips apply. You’ll want to get away from the city and suburbs to eliminate light pollution. The darker it is, the better. NOAA also recommends viewing between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time, as that is generally when activity is at its zenith. Finally, if you can swing it, you’ll want to get to an elevated position and look north for the best results.

Since we are within a few days of a full moon, the moon’s brightness may impact your ability to see things if you’re at the southern reaches of this aurora. In addition, the strength of the aurora is a forecast, and just like weather forecasts, it may be stronger or weaker than predicted.

Technologies

Instagram Adds New Features, Including Reposts and Maps

Feed posts and public reels can now be reshared on the popular social-networking app.

Instagram has launched new features aimed at further connecting users with their online contacts, the company announced Wednesday. One involves sharing public feed posts and reels, another shares locations with others on an Instagram map, and a new Friends tab shows what content your contacts have liked or commented on.

For reposts, you’ll be able to share public reels and feed posts from other users. The original poster will be credited and those reshares will appear in the sharer’s profile in a new tab. Posts and reels will now include a reshare icon when they’re available to share.

Instagram says creators will be able to reach more people since those posts will be recommended to others’ followers.

You have to enable the new map feature to start sharing your last active location. You can set who can see your location and can also choose not to share your location when you’re in specific places, or have your location available to specific users.

Location sharing can be disabled at any time, Instagram says. Reels, posts and stories can be viewed through the map.

Also, a new Friends tab at the top of Reels shows public content from contacts. This feature has been available previously, but is now being expanded globally.

You can opt out of having your content displayed in the tab with options to hide likes, comments and reposts. You can also mute likes, comments and reposts from accounts you follow.

Technologies

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Technologies

How to Play Battlefield 6 Beta: Open Access Resumes This Friday

The Battlefield 6 open beta for all will open back up this weekend, starting on Aug. 14.

EA’s DICE studio has blown the lid off the multiplayer for its upcoming military shooter Battlefield 6, and after an exciting first beta weekend, you can join the fray again in just a few days. Battlefield 6’s first public beta is available to everyone and will resume this weekend. It’s not too late to join in, and here’s how.

The Battlefield 6 open beta is the first chance for players to experience the game’s multiplayer before its full release on Oct. 10. While those with early access got a couple extra days to play and the first open beta weekend was a rousing success, if you didn’t get to play, don’t worry — the second weekend will kick off at 1 a.m. PT on Aug. 14 and run through Aug. 16.

Fans can visit Battlefield’s website to get info for the open beta, which just requires linking your EA account to your platform account. PC players will also have to configure their system to Secure Boot as well (see below).

The beta will be playable on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S.

When does the Battlefield 6 beta end? What are the dates and times?

Aug. 7-8: Early access.
Aug. 9-10: First open beta weekend available to all.
Aug. 14-16: Second open beta weekend available to all, starting at 1 a.m. PT on Aug. 14 and closing Aug. 17 at 1 a.m. PT.

How to access the Battlefield 6 open beta

As this is an open beta, getting access is pretty easy. Simply download the Battlefield 6 beta client from your preferred platform, including the PS5, Xbox Series X and S, Steam, Epic Games Store or the EA app.

Preloading the Battlefield 6 beta started on Aug. 4. Doing a preload means you’ll be able to jump on the beta as soon as it’s available instead of waiting for it to download on the day of access.

Battlefield 6 open beta download links

Here are the BF6 Beta download links for each platform:

Battlefield 6 beta maps

EA revealed the rotation of maps for the Battlefield 6 open beta weekends.

For the first weekend of Aug. 9-10, the maps were:

Liberation Peak: A large mountainous desert.
Siege of Cairo: An urban battlefield in the heart of Egypt.
Iberian Offensive: Tall buildings for fun times.

The second weekend of Aug. 14-17 will include the first weekend maps, plus:

Empire State: A close-quarters NYC map.

Battlefield 6 beta game modes

Just like with the maps, each weekend will also feature certain game modes.

The modes for the first weekend were:

Conquest
Closed Weapon Conquest
Domination
King of the Hill
Breakthrough

Then on the second weekend of the beta, it will be the previous modes along with:

Rush
Squad Deathmatch
And more (DICE did not provide specifics)

PC-specific notice for Battlefield 6 beta

A special note if you haven’t played a Battlefield game on PC recently: Studio DICE and EA recently started requiring players to set their computers to Secure Boot when playing Battlefield games to combat cheaters, and Battlefield 6 is no different. To even play the open beta, you’ll need to delve into your BIOS and switch your PC to Secure Boot. Check EA’s guide for help.