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Rare view of Northern Lights possible for parts of Wyoming, Nebraska and South Dakota

Northern lights aurora borealis

(KDVR) — If you live in Wyoming, Nebraska or South Dakota, there’s a chance you will have the opportunity to see the Aurora Borealis on Saturday night.

Meteorologist Chris Tomer says a major X1 solar flare happened on Oct. 28.

According to NASA, solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

X1 solar flare Credit: NASA

The solar flare resulted in a coronal mass ejection, which is now traveling toward Earth. 

It’s expected to interact with the outer atmosphere and create a high KP Index Value of 7 on Saturday.  This means a rare event is possible. People in parts of Wyoming, Nebraska, and South Dakota might see the Aurora Borealis. 

The further north you travel, the better the odds you have of seeing the Northern Lights.