Why there could be strong Northern Lights shows this week

If you looked out of your window over the next few nights, you might be lucky enough to spot something very special - the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights.

That's because, in the past few days, Nasa has spotted four powerful solar flares being emitted from the Sun, into space.

The US space agency says that some of these flares are among the strongest that have been recorded in recent times.

As a result, there is a good chance of a strong aurora being visible in the skies later this week.

But what are solar flares and how are they connected with the Northern Lights? Keep reading to find out and tell us in the comments if you've ever seen them.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation from the Sun's surface, which usually start around areas known as sunspots.

Giant eruptions, such as solar flares, can send strong amounts of energy into space.

If they reach Earth, this energy can impact things on our planet, and can interrupt radio communication and even affect our electricity grids.

However, these solar flares can't pass through the Earth's atmosphere, so they don't affect humans on the ground.

Instead, they can generate beautiful light displays, known as auroras, when these energetic particles from the Sun hit Earth's upper atmosphere, and collide with gases there.

The Northern Lights, also known as the aurora borealis, occur when charged particles from solar flares interact with gases and molecules in the Earth's atmosphere.

The two most common gases in the Earth's atmosphere are oxygen and nitrogen.

Oxygen atoms glow green - the colour most often seen in the Northern Lights, while nitrogen atoms are purple, blue and pink.