Solar flares this week could trigger geomagnetic storms on Earth and make the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, visible in several US states.
Ejected solar material is expected to arrive in Earth's atmosphere sometime on Tuesday, while the second batch of material is expected to arrive sometime on Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center said in a news release Monday.
The SWPC said the effects of solar material in Earth's atmosphere could make the aurora effects visible from northern Maine to the upper Midwest. Other northern states as well as parts of the lower Midwest and Oregon could also see the northern lights in the sky.
The material was released from the sun in eruptions on Sunday, with the leading edge of the material reaching Earth around 11 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, the SWPC said in a later news release.
According to a post on X from NASA's Sun & Space account, there were three notable solar flares on Sunday.
When solar material reaches the atmosphere, it reacts with gases and releases particles of energy visible as aurora borealis.