On Tuesday, NOAA issued a G4, or severe, geomagnetic storm watch in response to recent coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, from the sun. CMEs are huge bubbles of coronal plasma that the sun occasionally ejects, NASA says. The highest geomagnetic storm level is G5, which is considered extreme.

Increased solar activity causes auroras that dance around Earth’s poles, known as the northern lights, or aurora borealis, and southern lights, or aurora australis. When the energized particles from coronal mass ejections reach Earth’s magnetic field, they interact with gases in the atmosphere to create different colored lights in the sky.

The northern lights were visible Tuesday night across the Chicago area, illuminating the sky with brightly colorful displays due to severe solar storms.

Fans who attended or watched Wednesday's MAC showdown between Toledo and Miami (Ohio) got a special treat in the third quarter.

Bands of green and red first pierced through the hazy night sky around 9:30 p.m. above the pier at Grand Haven State Park.

The Statesman collaborated with readers to gather photos of the aurora borealis throughout Central Texas. Here are the eerily beautiful results.

The University of Alaska and Space Weather Prediction Center forecasts say the best chance of seeing the northern lights starts as early as 10 p.m. ET Tuesday and will last until around 1 a.m. Wednesday.