Western Canada had some stunning views of the Northern Lights last weekend, and now the vibrant green, red, and purple lights shifting and changing shapes are expected to appear over most of the country on Wednesday night following a geomagnetic storm!
The lights, aka, Aurora Borealis, likely won’t be visible from the GTA, but parts of southern Ontario will have a good chance of spotting them. This can be traced to the presence of geomagnetic storms, which will increase your chances of seeing the auroras — these storms are ranked from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme).
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) extended its G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storm watch to tonight, meaning there’ll be moderate disturbances in Earth’s magnetic field due to faster solar wind coming from a large, open area on the Sun — so the lights will be even more spectacular and visible further south than usual (and if you’re looking for the perfect area to view the awe-inspiring night skies, try visiting one of these spots in southern Ontario!)
The best time to sky watch will be anytime between 10 pm and 2 am, although there may be (somewhat less impressive) aurora activity in the evening and morning.
Of course, if you miss out on the Northern Lights, there are tons of other stargazing events in Toronto to look out for throughout the year! Parts of Ontario can witness a partial solar eclipse at the end of March (Cornwall seems to be one of the best areas of Ontario to witness this solar phenomenon).
As the weather warms up, look out for the Lyrids meteor during the pre-dawn hours of April 22 — you’ll spot about 10 to 20 meteors per hour. Later this spring, the Eta Aquarids shower is expected to peak overnight on May 5 between the hours of 3 am and 6 am, producing up to 60 meteors per hour under favourable conditions.
Before winter rolls back, Torontonians can look out for a Super Full Moon (Nov 5). As a Supermoon is closer to Earth, it’ll appear much larger and brighter in the sky! Click here for all the must-see cosmic events taking place in Toronto in 2025!
