Skywatchers and stargazers could be in for a real treat next year.
Scientists say solar activity will increase more quickly and peak at a higher level than previously predicted, which means displays of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, could be more frequent and vibrant in 2024.
The sun is currently in its 25th solar cycle, an 11-year period of solar magnetic activity that began in December 2019. The updated prediction calls for solar activity to peak between January and October 2024, sooner and much stronger than originally forecast, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Stronger solar cycles produce more frequent and intense solar storms. When a solar storm occurs in the Earth's magnetosphere, the northern lights are visible.
It all adds up to a spectacular outlook for skywatchers. Over the next 18 months, the northern lights are expected to be more visible, and more often, from more places on Earth than they have been in the past 20 years and are expected to be in the next decade.
"When there’s a big disturbance in the magnetic field, then you're more likely to see aurora at lower latitudes," Mark Miesch, a NOAA research scientist, told NBC News.
The total solar eclipse on April 8, which will be visible from the US, is also expected to be quite a spectacle. The NOAA said the sun may "put on a good show with a particularly impressive corona – the extended outer atmosphere of the Sun that is only visible during an eclipse."