Oklahomans Could See Northern Lights Monday Night

A huge solar storm could make the northern lights visible to Oklahomans, but only for the night of Monday, November 2, 2015, then the chance will be over.

Scientists say the G3 solar storm currently underway is creating the right conditions. 

They say the best times to try to catch a glimpse in Oklahoma are from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday night into Tuesday morning.

The northern lights are caused by collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. They are known as 'Aurora borealis' in the north and 'Aurora australis' in the south, according to the Northern Lights Centre in Canada.

The displays appear in many colors but pale green and pink are the most common. The Centre says shades of red, yellow, green, blue, and violet have been reported. The lights appear in many forms from patches or scattered clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains or shooting rays that light up the sky with an eerie glow.