Technologies

The Biggest Aurora of 2026 (So Far) Is Coming Tonight: Here’s How and Where to See It

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting a G4-level geomagnetic storm after a long-duration solar flare erupted a couple of days ago.

January came in like a wrecking ball for skygazers, opening the year with a sweet supermoon and a major meteor shower. The ball keeps rolling, as the old saying goes, with what will likely be one of the best displays of aurora borealis of the year. Tonight’s storm is predicted to be quite powerful and may cause the northern lights to stretch as far south as Kansas.

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It’s all thanks to an X-class coronal mass ejection that erupted from the sun on Jan. 18. It is headed straight toward Earth. The plasma and solar material contained therein will interact with Earth’s geomagnetic field, resulting in pretty sky lights for those of us here on the ground. Per SpaceWeather, this particular CME erupted for nearly seven hours, which is a lot longer than usual. NOAA’s prediction shows the results of this as the geomagnetic storm continuing uninterrupted with varying strengths, all night and all day on Jan. 20.

Where will the aurora be visible tonight?

According to NOAA’s prediction dashboard, the aurora itself will push down to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, and Maine. Alaska and Canada have the best view, as is the norm.

It should be at least visible in Nebraska, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. People in those states will want to get to higher ground if possible and face north to get the best view.

Geomagnetic storms are a lot like regular storms here on Earth in that predictions can only get you so far. Should the storm be a bit stronger than its prediction, you can add Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware to the list as well. It may even reach further if the G4 storm is upgraded to a G5 storm, so keep an eye out on your local news this evening in case NOAA’s prediction changes.

How to watch the aurora borealis

Tips on how to watch the aurora borealis can be broken down by region. If you’re in the states where the aurora borealis is definitely happening, all you have to do is get away from the light pollution in city and suburban areas and look up. The closer you are to the Canadian border, the stronger the aurora will be. You won’t need any additional equipment to see it.

Those outside of the first group but still within NOAA’s viewing line can still see the aurora, but it’ll require a little extra work. You definitely want to get away from the city and suburbs, as the light pollution will hinder your ability to see it. Once outside of town, find the highest spot you can and face north. Depending on the strength of the storm, you should be able to spot the aurora in the northern skies.

The good news is that the new moon happened on Jan. 18, so there will be virtually no light pollution from the moon. If the sky is clear and somewhere dark, your odds of seeing the aurora will be pretty high. Should you decide to brave the cold to see the northern lights, keep an eye out for Jupiter. It’ll be the brightest thing in the sky not named the moon, and if you have a telescope, you can get an excellent view of the planet and its rings right now.

Technologies

Google’s Pixel 10A Is Coming to Japan With an Exclusive Blue Edition and Special Wallpaper

This model comes with creatively designed stickers and a special look for Pixel’s 10th anniversary.

Don’t be blue: Google is releasing an Isai blue edition of the Pixel 10A to celebrate the Android phone line’s 10th anniversary, setting it apart with its own sticker set, specialized wallpaper and custom icons. But it’ll only be available in Japan.

Announced Tuesday on the Google Japan blog, the Isai blue Pixel 10A has a dark blue look and includes bonus decorations designed in collaboration with Japan’s Heralbony art company. These include an exclusive bumper case and stickers for customization.

This edition of the Pixel 10A will arrive in Japan on May 20, following the April 14 release of the Pixel 10A in its original colors of lavender, berry, fog and obsidian. The Isai blue model costs 94,900 yen, which roughly translates to $595, and includes 256GB of storage.

This makes it slightly less expensive than the US model’s 256GB edition, but it comes with a number of fun extras at no additional cost.

Google’s creation of a country-specific model for Japan may also reflect strong sales in that market. In 2023, the IDC analytics firm (via 9to5Google) reported that the Pixel 7 series accounted for 10.7% of the country’s market share, a 527% increase from 2022.

Technologies

Can’t Wait for New Emoji? Here’s How to Create Your Own on iPhone

Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones can create custom emoji in a few easy steps.

Apple brought new emoji to all iPhones when the company released iOS 26.4 on March 24. The new emoji include «🫍» orca, «🫪» distorted face and «🫈» hairy creature — or as we might normally call it, Sasquatch. According to Emojipedia, there are 3,953 emoji with more on the way, including a pickle. But there’s no emoji for a dog wearing pajamas, a plate with burgers and fries and many other things. But if you have Genmoji on your iPhone you can create these emoji and many more.

Apple released iOS 18.2 in 2024 and the company introduced its own emoji generator, called Genmoji, to Apple Intelligence-capable iPhones at that time. The Unicode Standard, a universal character encoding standard, is responsible for creating new emoji, and approved emoji are added to all devices once a year. With Genmoji, you don’t have to wait for new emoji to appear on your iPhone each year. You can just create them as you need them.

Read on to learn how to use Genmoji on iPhone to create your own custom emoji. Just note that only iPhones with Apple Intelligence, like the iPhone 17 lineup, can use Genmoji at this time.

Note: The new emoji may not display correctly for Apple users whose devices aren’t on a 26.4 software version.

How to make custom emoji

1. Open Messages and go into a chat.
2. Tap the plus (+) button next to your text box.
3. Tap Genmoji.

You can then type a description of an emoji into the text box near the bottom of your screen and tap the check mark on your keyboard to enter that description into Genmoji. You can also tap different suggestions and themes that are right above the text box. And with iOS 26 or later, you can also combine and use emoji to create others rather than describing a new emoji or using suggestions.

Your iPhone will generate a series of new emoji for you to pick from according to your description, and you can swipe through these new emoji. When you find the one you want, tap Add in the top right corner of your screen and the new emoji will be available to use as an emoji, tapback or a sticker. Now you don’t have to wait for the Unicode Standard to propose, create and bring new emoji to devices.

For more iOS news, here’s what to know about iOS 26.4 and iOS 26.3. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet for other tips and tricks.

Technologies

Save Over 20% on This Handy 10,000-mAh Anker Nano Power Bank

Keep your devices charged on the go with this Anker Nano power bank, now down to just $46.

We’ve just spotted the Anker Nano 45-watt portable power bank for just $46 at Amazon right now. This saves you $14 — a 23% discount on its list price. Though it’s $6 more than the lowest-ever price we saw during Black Friday, it’s still a solid discount when you take the rising cost of tech accessories into account. It also matches the lowest price we’ve seen in 2026. It comes in four colors: black, green, pink and white. They’re all on sale for the same price.

This Anker Nano portable charger weighs approximately 8.2 ounces and measures a compact 3.21×1.99×1.42 inches. Despite its small size, it has a retractable cable and supports fast charging in compatible Apple, Samsung, Google Pixel and other smartphones. It also has a large 10,000-mAh capacity and a smart display so you always know how much juice is left in your power bank.

The Nano can charge an iPhone 17 to up to 50% battery in an estimated 20 minutes, and is powerful enough to charge tablets and laptops. Need to charge your devices while charging your power bank? You can do so safely thanks to pass-through charging so you’ll never have to go without battery life.

We’ve also compiled a list of the best power banks for iPhones and for Android, in case this deal isn’t quite a fit for you.

Why this deal matters

If you travel, have a long commute time or are otherwise always on the go, a portable charger can help you keep your devices fully powered. This 45-watt Anker Nano power bank is compact, includes a loop that lets you keep track of it easily and has a built-in cable so you don’t have to keep up with extra cords. Amazon’s $14 discount makes this a solid deal for anyone looking for a compact power bank.