ATLANTA — It’s not your imagination — the sky over Georgia could look a little different Wednesday evening, thanks to an impressive and rare solar event.

Georgians may have a rare chance to see the northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis.

According to NASA, auroras known in the Northern Hemisphere as the aurora borealis and in the Southern Hemisphere as the aurora australis are “colorful, dynamic, and often visually delicate displays of an intricate dance of particles and magnetism between the Sun and Earth called space weather.”

This particular display is being driven by one of the strongest geomagnetic storms of the year. The phenomenon occurs when charged particles from the sun collide with Earth’s magnetic field, producing vibrant, shifting colors in the night sky, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Karisa Zdanky, Astronomy Manager at the Tellus Science Museum, said stronger solar outbursts make it more likely the aurora can be seen farther south than usual.

“These stronger outbursts from the sun make it more possible that the elements in our atmosphere get very excited near the poles and tend to go farther south than they would during a solar minimum,” Zdanky explained.

NASA officials say, “An aurora can appear in a variety of colors, from an eerie green to blue and purple to pink and red. When particles from space bombard gases in the atmosphere, they can give the atoms and molecules of the gases extra energy that’s released as tiny specks of light.”

Nasa adds the color of an aurora also depends on the type of gas that is hit and where that gas is usually located in the atmosphere.

“Oxygen excited to different energy levels can produce green and red. Green occurs roughly between 60 to 120 miles altitude, and red occurs above 120 miles,” NASA officials said. “Excited nitrogen gas from about 60 to 120 miles (100-200 km) glows blue. Depending on the type and energy of the particle it is interacting with, nitrogen can give off both pink and blue light. If it is below about 60 miles (100 km), it gives the lower edge of the aurora a reddish-purple to pink glow.”

For the best view, Zdanky recommends heading north of Atlanta away from city lights in order to minimize interference.

NOAA officials say the ideal viewing window will be between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. NASA also suggests finding the darkest area possible and using a long-exposure camera setting to capture the best photos of the light show.

You can track the aurora forecast on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website here.