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14 // #TRENDING

Many North Americans are delighted to know that they have a chance to see the northern lights, a sight of great interest according to its recent popularity surge on social media.

The northern lights, or Aurora Borealis, are born from shifts in solar winds in the Earth's magnetosphere. This causes ionization of electrons and protons within the atmosphere, resulting in brush strokes of brilliant colors across the night sky.

(The northern lights as seen in Wisconsin. From USA Today)
To the geographically favored (and even to the geographically unfavored), seeing these lights is an activity of great joy, wonder, and beauty. So they're kind of a big deal.

As of November 12, 2025, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Center Administration (NORA) predict that select North Americans could glimpse the auroras both tonight and tomorrow night. Clearly, the lights get enough buzz to warrant government-backed organizations and forecasts.


(The predicted breadths of tonight's and tomorrow's auroras)
Within the past 24 hours, there have been nigh 760K mentions of the lights on X (formerly Twitter), placing it at Rank #2 for X's trending page on November 11, 2025.

It goes to show that even in the steady waves of pop culture and politics, nature still has a foothold in online spaces.

- C. Thomas Bailey

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