Northern Lights: What causes them, and when you could see them again

If you missed the northern lights that illuminated the sky Tuesday night, you may get another opportunity to witness this natural phenomenon.

The aurora is expected to arrive Wednesday afternoon and is forecast to be at its strongest during that time. However, the lights won't be visible until after dark tonight.

The aurora, also referred to as the northern lights, is the glow or light produced when electrons from space flow down Earth’s magnetic field and collide with atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere in a ring or oval centered on the planet’s magnetic pole, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center .

The lights represent one manifestation of geomagnetic activity , or geomagnetic storms. They are produced sim