Skygazers eager for their next chance to see the northern lights have a powerful ally on their side: a small group of space weather forecasters monitoring the sun for the next big solar explosion.

“This is an unusual event,” says the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, and it sure does seem that way as the agency has issued its first “G4” level geomagnetic watch since 2005.

Skywatchers get ready: Thanks to heightened solar activity, the aurora borealis could be coming to the skies above a large portion of the United States this weekend, space weather forecasters said ...

Skywatchers get ready: Thanks to heightened solar activity, the aurora borealis could be coming to the skies above a large portion of the United States this weekend, space weather forecasters said ...