Views of the northern lights may reach the U.S. this weekend. Here’s where

The sun emitted its most powerful solar flare in seven years on Thursday night, a cosmic event forecasted to create views of the northern lights across the U.S. this weekend, reports Live Science .

Views of the northern lights are most likely to be visible this weekend in northern U.S. states and some of the lower Midwest, according to The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . The northern lights could be visible as far south as Utah, northern California and Missouri, too.

Where will Northern Lights be visible in the U.S. this weekend? Views of the Northern Lights will dance across U.S. skies between Friday night and Saturday morning, predicts the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Brightness, color and intensity will vary across regions.

The lights are not visible during daylight hours and can be best viewed after sunset Friday and before sunrise Saturday, per NOAA .

"People across the northern half of the United States have the best chance of seeing the aurora on Saturday night, weather permitting," reports AccuWeather . "This includes areas as far south as Pennsylvania, Indiana, Missouri, Colorado, Oregon and Northern California."

U.S. states with the highest chance of northern light views include:

North Dakota

South Dakota

The map shown below demonstrates chances of visibility in every region of the U.S.

What causes the northern lights? The northern lights are known formally as aurora borealis. Northern lights comes as a result of a violent event in the Earth's atmosphere. When visible, the northern lights produce colorful bands of light in the sky.

"The northern lights are created when energized ps from the sun slam into Earth's upper atmosphere at speeds of up to 45 million mph (72 million kph), but our planet's magnetic field protects us from the onslaught," per Space .

"As Earth's magnetic field redirects the ps toward the poles — there are southern lights, too, which you can read about below — the dramatic process transforms into a cinematic atmospheric phenomenon that dazzles and fascinates scientists and skywatchers alike."

The northern lights this weekend are the result of a X9.0 solar flare produced by the sun on Thursday, per NOAA . Flares of this scale are uncommon.

Views of the northern lights are commonly seen in the "auroral zone" — an area within an approximately 1,550-mile radius of the North Pole, per Space . The northern most parts of Alaska, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Canada and all throughout Iceland are the regions where you are most likely to see the northern lights.

Why have the Northern Lights been so regular this year? Increased solar activity, such as more regular and widespread views of the northern lights, is credited to Solar Cycle 25.

We are in the middle of a solar cycle — the 25th one on record — which the sun goes through roughly every 11 years, reports Space . During a solar cycle, the Sun's magnetic poles flip — a cosmic event that can, "can stir up stormy space weather around our planet," per NOAA .

"Solar cycles are repetitive yet difficult to predict. A cycle can be as short as eight years or as long as 14 years and varies dramatically in intensity. The current cycle — solar cycle 25 — began in December 2019," per Space .