• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a geomagnetic storm watch for August 9 and 10, coinciding with the peak of the Perseid meteor shower.
• If the predicted moderate G2 conditions are met, auroras might be visible as low as New York and Idaho.
• The storm watch is due to two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that erupted from the sun on August 7 and are now barreling toward Earth.
• The exact time of the CMEs' arrival is difficult to predict, and their impact on auroras depends on the magnetic field alignment within the CME.
• For a strong connection to Earth's magnetosphere, the Bz value of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) needs to be oriented southward.