Auroras could light up the skies on Christmas, thanks to a powerful solar flare heading toward Earth

Northern lights over snowy trees reflected in a lake.

This Christmas Day, the skies may add to the festive cheer with a display of auroras, thanks to a blob of charged particles enroute to deliver a "glancing blow" to our planet following a powerful M8.9 solar flare.

High-latitude areas in the U.S., including northern Montana, Minnesota and North Dakota, may witness auroral displays late on Wednesday (Dec. 25), according to geomagnetic storm watch issued by the Space Weather Prediction Center, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).