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Why recent forecasts on northern lights might be spotty

MPR News

In recent days there's been a lot of chatter in the media, including on the Minnesota Public Radio News website, and among friends about prospects for seeing the northern lights in Minnesota this week. But some experts say those predictions may have been premature - or just wrong.

Bob King, who writes the "Astro Bob" blog, told MPR's "Minnesota Now" that a key factor in predicting whether the aurora will be visible is what's known as the Kp index, with forecasts released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center.

"They're kind of like a t...