If you've been looking for some pure delight after a week of heavy news headlines, you may get your chance this weekend with the potential that one of nature's most enchanting shows, the northern lights, may be visible in Virginia.

Among the things affecting your chances to see the display is the weather forecast. The National Weather Service says the forecast throughout most of NoVA calls for unseasonably warm temperatures through the weekend with a small chance of showers and thunderstorms on Saturday. If the weather cooperates, you'll want to get as far away as possible from city lights to get the best view. A large swath of the northern United States is included in this weekend's aurora watch, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center. And, good news for people as far south as Iowa and central Illinois: the northern lights are expected to dip farther south than usual this time around, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center.

And, the agency said, under ideal circumstances, people in Missouri, Tennessee, and points east and west could get a peek, too. The agency said geomagnetic activity was expected to rise Friday, Sept. 27, and likely reach moderate storm levels on Saturday, the 28th. The colorful, dancing lights could also be visible early Sunday morning.

The Space Weather Prediction Center will continue to update its forecast through the weekend. The science behind the northern lights is a bit complicated — all you really need to know is that they are jaw-dropping beautiful. Basically, they become visible to the human eyes when electrons from solar storms collide with the upper reaches of the Earth's atmosphere.

In normal circumstances, the Earth's magnetic field guides the electrons in such a way that the aurora forms two ovals approximately centered at the magnetic poles. But during geomagnetic storms, the ovals expand away from the poles and give some lucky people in the United States a sky show they'll never forget.

Most often, the auroras appear as tall rays that look like a colorful curtain made of folds of cloth, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center.

"During the evening, these rays form arcs that stretch from horizon to horizon," the agency said on a website. "Late in the evening, near midnight, the arcs often begin to twist and sway, just as if a wind were blowing on the curtains of light. At some point, the arcs may expand to fill the whole sky, moving rapidly and becoming very bright. This is the peak of what is called an auroral substorm." Here's a helpful map from the Space Weather Prediction Center to help you determine your chances of seeing the Aurora Borealis this weekend. To understand it, find the blue, green, red and yellow Kp lines. The higher the number assigned to it, the greater your chances are to see the northern lights.