WASHINGTON — A recent cluster of flare-ups on the sun's surface is sending super-charged particles at the earth, meaning that skywatchers in North America could be treated to a display of the northern lights Thursday night.

The flare ups, called coronal mass ejections, happened between Oct. 11 and 13, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center .

Because it takes several days for the particles to travel through space, the particles released by the CMEs began reaching earth late Wednesday, on Oct. 15. NOAA expects the strongest geomagnetic storms to hit on Thursday night before receding Friday and disappearing by the weekend.

Where will the northern lights be visible tonight?

While the majority of the aurora borealis will be co

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