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Northern Lights of Oct. 24, 2011: Shawn Malone
Credit: Shawn Malone
Photographer Shawn Malone of Marquette, Mich., took this dazzling photo of the spectacular Oct. 24, 2011 northern lights display.
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Northern Lights of Oct. 24, 2011: Shawn Malone
Credit: Shawn Malone
Photographer Shawn Malone of Marquette, Mich., took this dazzling photo of the spectacular Oct. 24, 2011 northern lights display.
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Northern Lights of Oct. 24, 2011: Samuel Hartman
Credit: Samuel Hartman
Skywatcher Samuel Hartman of State College, Pa., snapped this photo of the amazing Oct. 24, 2011 northern lights display. The aurora display was created from charged solar particles from an Oct. 22 sun storm that took two days to reach Earth.
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Northern Lights of Oct. 24, 2011: Tom Pruzenski
Credit: Tom Pruzenski
Skywatcher Tom Pruzenski snapped this view of the Oct. 24, 2011 northern lights display while watching the rare red northern lights with his brother Chris on Oct. 24, 2011 from Hemlock, NY.
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Northern Lights of Oct. 24, 2011: Tom Pruzenski
Credit: Tom Pruzenski
Skywatcher Tom Pruzenski snapped this view of the Oct. 24, 2011 northern lights display while watching the rare red northern lights with his brother Chris on Oct. 24, 2011 from Hemlock, NY.
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Northern Lights of Oct. 24, 2011: Tom Pruzenski
Credit: Tom Pruzenski
Skywatcher Tom Pruzenski snapped this view of the Oct. 24, 2011 northern lights display while watching the rare red northern lights with his brother Chris on Oct. 24, 2011 from Hemlock, NY.
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Northern Lights of Oct. 24, 2011: Jeff Berkes
Credit: Jeff Berkes
Astrophotographer Jeff Berkes took this photo of a dazzling aurora display from West Chester, Pa., on Oct. 24, 2011.
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Northern Lights of Oct. 24, 2011: Tom Pruzenski
Credit: Tom Pruzenski
Skywatcher Tom Pruzenski snapped this view of the Oct. 24, 2011 northern lights display while watching the rare red northern lights with his brother Chris on Oct. 24, 2011 from Hemlock, NY.
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Northern Lights of Oct. 24, 2011: Jeff Berkes
Credit: Jeff Berkes
Astrophotographer Jeff Berkes took this photo of a dazzling aurora display from West Chester, Pa., on Oct. 24, 2011.
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Northern Lights of Oct. 24, 2011: Samuel Hartman
Credit: Samuel Hartman
Skywatcher Samuel Hartman of State College, Pa., snapped this photo of the amazing Oct. 24, 2011 northern lights display. The aurora display was created from charged solar particles from an Oct. 22 sun storm that took two days to reach Earth.
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Northern Lights of Oct. 24, 2011: Colin Chatfield
Credit: Colin Chatfield
Canadian skywatcher Colin Chatfield caught this view of a stunning aurora display over his home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Oct. 24, 2011.
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Aurora over Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Credit: Colin Chatfield ("Astro-Nuts")
Colin Chatfield took this aurora photo in Saskatoon, SK, Canada, on October 24, 2011.
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Aurora over Saskatoon, SK, Canada 4
Credit: Colin Chatfield ("Astro-Nuts")
Colin Chatfield took this aurora photo in Saskatoon, SK, Canada, on October 24, 2011.
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Aurora over Munising, Michigan 1
Credit: Tom Dolaskie IV/www.upoverland.org
Astrophotographer Tom Dolaskie IV caught the aurora over Munising, Michigan on October 24, 2011.
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Aurora over Munising, Michigan 2
Credit: Tom Dolaskie IV/www.upoverland.org
Astrophotographer Tom Dolaskie IV caught the aurora over Munising, Michigan on October 24, 2011.
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Aurora West of Madison, WI 1
Credit: Randy Halverson, River Halverson/dakotalapse.com
The father-and-son team of Randy Halverson and River Halverson got this picture of the aurora west of Madison, WI, on October 24, 2011.
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Aurora West of Madison, WI 2
Credit: Randy Halverson, River Halverson/dakotalapse.com
The father-and-son team of Randy Halverson and River Halverson got this picture of the aurora west of Madison, WI, on October 24, 2011.
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Aurora Seen as Far South as Western Kentucky
Credit: Larry W. Smith
Larry W. Smith snapped this picture of the aurora in Western Kentucky on October 24, 2011.
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Aurora over Western Kentucky
Credit: Larry W. Smith
Larry W. Smith snapped this picture of the aurora in Western Kentucky on October 24, 2011.
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Aurora North of Wichita, Kansas 1
Credit: Jim Hammer
Jim Hammer got this aurora photograph 10 miles north of Wichita, Kansas, on October 24, 2011.
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Aurora North of Wichita, Kansas 2
Credit: Jim Hammer
Jim Hammer got this aurora photograph 10 miles north of Wichita, Kansas, on October 24, 2011.
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Aurora Outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan 2
Credit: Pete Mumbower
Pete Mumbower snagged this photo of the aurora outside Grand Rapids, Michigan, on October 24, 2011.
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Aurora Outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan 1
Credit: Pete Mumbower
Pete Mumbower snagged this photo of the aurora outside Grand Rapids, Michigan, on October 24, 2011.
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Northern Lights in the South
Credit: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
On Oct. 24, 2011, the Northern Lights glowed over North Alabama, visible even though the skies were bright from city lights. Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, are unusual so far south — the colorful, 20-minute display was a rare sighting caused by a recent solar storm. This video was captured by the color allsky camera at the Automated Lunar and Meteor Observatory at the Marshall Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
