Where will northern lights be visible in the US? Incoming solar storm to unleash auroras

Another powerful solar eruption is hurtling across the cosmos toward Earth, bearing with it the potential to create striking auroras in the night sky around the planet.

In the United States, plenty of Americans should have an opportunity Thursday night to witness the dazzling display of green and red hues also known as the aurora borealis, thanks to the "severe" geomagnetic storm forecasted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A coronal mass ejection of plasma clouds and charged particles driving the storm prompted NOAA's Space Prediction Center to issue a rare G4 geomagnetic storm watch for the second time this year.

Despite the threat the solar storm poses to satellites, GPS signals and power grids, the storm watch is good news for aurora chasers: Because of the way the solar particles interact with Earth's magnetosphere, the powerful eruption should make the vibrant northern lights visible to a wider swath of the northern hemisphere than usual.

Here's what to know about the northern lights and how to potentially see them Thursday night in the United States.