Northern Lights may brighten up your Mother's Day celebrations

If you are looking to celebrate Mother’s Day by taking your mom out for dinner, your outing may also lighten up as northern lights or aurora borealis are expected to show up tonight May 12.

"The aurora may become visible over much of the northern half of the country, and maybe as far south as Alabama and northern California," officials with Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) wrote in a release quoted by Space.com.

The agency also added that "severe and extreme" geomagnetic storms were likely again Sunday night.

The much-awaited solar storm hit Earth Saturday with its full might, which eventually caused minor communications and satellite disruptions on our planet.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said that, so far, no FEMA region had reported any significant impact from the storms, while the US Department of Energy said it is not aware of any impact from the storms on electric customers.

NOAA stated that strong flares will continue through at least Sunday, with a spokesperson telling the media that the Space Weather Prediction Center had "prepared well for the storm".

Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites also encountered service degradation Saturday prompting a probe by SpaceX.

SpaceX Chief Engineer Elon Musk wrote on X that its satellites were “under a lot of pressure, but holding up so far”.

The multicolor lights showed up in Germany, Switzerland, China, England, Spain and in several Midwestern US states.

The most intense aurora borealis was recorded in 1859, pushing the auroras borealis to Central America and even Hawaii.

The current approaching solar flares may cause severe to extreme storms — G4 to G5 — and may extend the light show into Monday, May 13.

The solar storm peaked over the weekend as the sun reaches its peak of activity every 11 years.