Northern lights could be visible in Kansas skies tonight. Here’s what to know

Kansans could see some colorful skies Friday night.

The Space Weather Prediction Center is expecting a severe geomagnetic storm that could make the Northern Lights visible in parts of the United States, including the Sunflower State.

Spectacular northern lights give Wichita area a Friday night show to remember

“The aurora tomorrow may become visible over much of the northern half of the country, and maybe as far south as Alabama and northern California,” the National Weather Service said Thursday.

This is the first severe geomagnetic watch issued since 2005.

A geomagnetic storm is a “major disturbance of Earth’s magnetosphere that occurs when there is a very efficient exchange of energy from the solar wind into the space environment surrounding Earth,” according to Space Weather Prediction Center.

Here’s what you should know before you look in the skies tonight.

What are the northern lights?

The northern lights, also called aurora borealis, occur when the sun’s energized particles come in contact with the Earth’s upper atmosphere at a very fast speed. Earth’s magnetic field protects the planet from the onslaught, according to Space.com.

The colors and brightness of the lights depend on the atmosphere’s chemical composition.

Auroras have a variety of colors — pink, green, blue, purple and yellow, to name a few.

The lights are usually the most visible in the “auroral zone,” which is in about a 1,550 mile radius of the Northpole, but solar storms can make the lights move further south.

How to view the northern lights in Kansas

To get the best shot of seeing the lights in Kansas skies, go to a location with as little light pollution as possible and look toward the northern pole.

The Space Weather Prediction Center says the best time to see an Aurora is in hour or two from midnight, between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.