Northern lights could provide spectacle over Long Island Wednesday evening, for second night in a row

A violent eruption on the sun this week created a celestial light show across Long Island's skies overnight that could be visible again later Wednesday, if afternoon clouds clear out.

A Newsday photographer captured the northern lights over Patchogue, an image of the other-worldly red glow of the aurora borealis.

The phenomenon is the result of the release of energy from the sun streaming past the earth and disturbing energized particles in our planet's upper atmosphere, according the NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center.

The northern lights were captured by news outlets across the northern tier of the United States and were visible as far south as Texas and Florida, CNN reported.

The energy eruptions emanating from the sun are called coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, and can result in colorful night skies.

CMEs from the recent eruption were expected to reach Earth’s magnetic field Wednesday for a second night, experts said. The Space Weather Prediction Center issued a G4 "severe" geomagnetic storm watch, with significant worldwide impacts predicted for Wednesday.

A G4 storm holds the potential for "voltage control problems in power systems, GPS navigation errors and intermittent issues with radio and satellite operations," CNN reported.

The issues related to these solar storms are generally limited and fleeting, experts said. 

Long Island should see clearing skies Wednesday night with some gusty winds and temperatures around 40, according to the National Weather Service.