A solar flare that was just the right size and took off in just the right direction treated stargazers in Lawrence and across the Midwest to a rare look at aurora borealis, also called the northern lights.

Aurora borealis lights up the sky early Monday northwest of Lawrence. The display, also known as the northern lights, was easily seen with clear skies and a late rising crescent moon, making for optimum viewing conditions.

In some areas, the lights dominated the northern horizon late Sunday and early Monday with hues of red, green and white light.

“From what I saw, it was stretched across the northern sky,” said 6News meteorologist Matt Sayers, who spotted the lights about 11 p.m. Sunday.

Further displays were possible Monday night, and some forecasts were calling for another round tonight.

The northern lights occur when charged particles are discharged from the sun and strike the Earth’s atmosphere, Sayers said. The solar flares are sometimes referred to as a “coronal mass ejection.”

“If one (flare) is large enough and sent in the right direction to where it hits, that just excites everything to where we see the northern lights,” Sayers said.

For unknown reasons, the particles move almost immediately to the Earth’s poles. Typically, northern lights are seen in the northern reaches of the globe, near the Arctic Circle.

The National Weather Service in Topeka received several calls about the phenomena late Sunday, prompting it to put out a public service announcement explaining the eerie lights.

They could be seen from as far south as Oklahoma and northern Arizona and California, said George Phillips, meteorologist with the weather service. The lights started at sunset and in some places continued until 5 a.m., he said.

“That was a pretty long period of time to be seeing them this far south,” Phillips said. “Usually once or twice a year you will get the lights this far south.”

Typically, the lights can be seen only in the far northern areas of Canada and Alaska and sometimes the northern United States.

There is a chance the lights could be seen again tonightbut the chances have dwindled since Sunday, according to the Web site www.spaceweather.com. But a Chicago astronomer said Monday a new flare could signal a new round of auroral displays tonight.

To improve your chances of seeing the northern lights, go into the country.

“Just get away from light pollution,” Sayers said.

Aurora Borealis gallery The Aurora Page

It’s difficult to predict the best times to see the lights or estimate how long they will last, Phillips said.

“It’s even more uncertain to predict the northern lights than it is to predict the weather,” Phillips said.