Thanks to a non-threatening powerful solar flare clashing with the Earth's magnetic field, Wyoming may be able to obtain a rare glimpse of the aurora borealis a.k.a. the Northern Lights this week.

The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration issued a Geomagnetic Storm Watch earlier this week and as a result, the Northern Lights may be seen must more to the south than usual, such as in parts of Wyoming and Nebraska. The bulk of the storm was said to move into Wyoming late Wednesday night (December 9th) and then be visible Thursday morning before sunrise and then Thursday night into Friday morning.

According to Canada's Northern Lights Centre, the Northern Lights occur from 'the result of collisions between gaseous particles in the Earth’s atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun’s atmosphere.' The light show provided happens when gas particles from the magnetosphere collide with particles from the solar storm.

As someone who formerly lived in North Dakota, it wasn't uncommon to get a view of the Northern Lights a few times throughout a given year. Of course, it's best as long there is a lack of pollution or cloud cover around to impair your view. Unfortunately, it's tough to predict where in Wyoming it may be visible. But if you're a sky-watcher, you may want to look up tonight, you may just see something spectacular.

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