Those of you looking to the skies this weekend may bear witness to a cosmic visual experience typically reserved for regions near the Arctic Circle. Various global weather agencies are reporting that the aurora borealis could be visible as far south as Alabama and Northern California over the coming days thanks to unusually strong solar flares.

On Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a G4 geomagnetic storm watch — the first to be declared in almost 20 years. G4 geomagnetic storms (which are the second-strongest variety and considered “severe”) can potentially interfere with power infrastructure and navigation systems, but they can also trigger the aurora borealis. That means parts of the world could enjoy a rare and captivating light show if the clouds behave.

Predicting if, where, and when the aurora borealis will appear is incredibly difficult, but because the G4 watch is in place between May 10th and 12th, this particular event has a wide window of opportunity. The NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center estimates that Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota are the US states with the best chance of seeing them, especially on Friday. The UK’s Meteorological Office also says the aurora may unfurl across the northern half of the UK, with a chance of it being visible across the entire country.

And while some people may want to experience this event “in the moment,” recording it via a smartphone camera will likely provide a better view. That’s because cameras are more sensitive to light than human eyes, and modes optimized for low-light conditions can produce images and video that look especially vivid.

Aurora can only be seen at night, toward the northern horizon. While it can be visible any time between sundown and sunrise, peak viewing times generally occur between 10PM and 2AM when the sky is at its darkest. The NOAA says it can be observed from as much as 1,000 kilometers (around 621 miles) away if conditions are right, and avoiding areas with heavy light pollution can improve your chances.

Farmers had to stop planting their crops over the weekend as the strongest solar storms since 2003 battered the GPS satellites used by self-driving tractors, according to 404 Media. And the issues struck just days ahead of a crucial date for planting corn, one of the US’s biggest crops.

For parts of the Midwest, planting corn after May 15th can lower crop yields, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, particularly as the end of the month nears. Organic farmer Tom Schwarz told 404 Media he chose to delay planting on his organic farm because of the GPS issues but that bad weather in the forecast may delay things further. He said he uses the centimeter-level accuracy of the GPS system to plant his rows so close to his tractor’s path that a human being can’t “steer fast enough or well enough to not kill the crop.”

LandMark Implement, which owns John Deere dealerships in Kansas and Nebraska, warned farmers on Friday to turn off a feature that uses a fixed receiver to correct tractors’ paths. LandMark updated its post Saturday, saying it expects that when farmers tend crops later, “rows won’t be where the AutoPath lines think they are” and that it would be “difficult – if not impossible” for the self-driving tractor feature to work in fields planted while the GPS systems were hampered.

Despite that, the effects have been minimal. We haven’t always been so lucky! In 1989, a solar storm knocked out power for hours in an entire Canadian province, while in 2003, bad space weather was blamed for a power outage in Sweden and forced airlines to reroute flights to avoid elevated radiation.

Update May 13th, 11:01AM ET: Article edited for clarity and length.

Microsoft is doubling down on a controversial plan to capture carbon dioxide emissions from wood-burning power plants. It announced a contract with energy company Stockholm Exergi to capture 3.33 million metric tons of carbon emissions from a biomass power plant in the Swedish capital in what is potentially the biggest deal of its kind to date — equivalent to taking more than 790,000 gas-powered cars off the road for a year.

It’s supposed to help Microsoft meet its goal of capturing more planet-heating carbon dioxide than it produces as a company by 2030 and then removing as much CO2 from the atmosphere as it has ever emitted since its founding by 2050.

But the jury is still out on whether wood-burning power plants actually help fight climate change or make things worse. Prominent environmental groups including the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth International have criticized the strategy as a “false solution.” And back in 2018, nearly 800 scientists signed a letter to the European Parliament asking it to stop supporting the use of wood for bioenergy.

Exergi runs a power plant in Stockholm that runs on wood pellets and residue from forestry waste, also known as forest biomass. Since that fuel comes from trees that can theoretically regrow to capture as much carbon dioxide as the power plant releases by burning wood, proponents see it as a carbon-neutral source of energy. The European Commission actually considers biomass burning its largest source of renewable energy, even though it’s been tied to deforestation across Europe and the US.

Microsoft and Stockholm Exergi are taking that idea one step further by adding machinery to the power plant that’s supposed to capture a majority of its carbon dioxide emissions before it can escape into the atmosphere. By doing so, they believe they can achieve negative emissions — taking more CO2 out of the atmosphere than this source of energy produces. Negative emissions technologies like this have become popular with companies trying to offset the environmental impact of their carbon pollution.

Microsoft declined to respond to The Verge’s request for comment. It also didn’t clarify how much it would spend on the deal with Stockholm Exergi. But Microsoft has heard these concerns before. It signed another deal last year with Danish energy company Ørsted to capture 2.76 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from a wood-burning power plant in Denmark.

In Stockholm, construction of the carbon capture equipment at the power plant isn’t slated to start until next year — if Stockholm Exergi secures enough additional funding from other deals and government aid. Then, it would take 10 years to draw down all 3.33 million metric tons of carbon dioxide agreed to in the contract.

Stockholm Exergi sees this deal as a big stamp of approval for its carbon capture technology. “It is the strongest possible recognition of the significance, quality and sustainability of our project,” Stockholm Exergi CEO Anders Egelrud said in a press release.