Photographer Shawn Malone of Marquette, Mich., took this dazzling photo of the spectacular Oct. 24, 2011 northern lights display.
Photographer Shawn Malone of Marquette, Mich., took this dazzling photo of the spectacular Oct. 24, 2011 northern lights display.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Astrophotographer Jeff Berkes took this photo of a dazzling aurora display from West Chester, Pa., on Oct. 24, 2011.
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.
Astrophotographer Jeff Berkes took this photo of a dazzling aurora display from West Chester, Pa., on Oct. 24, 2011.
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.
Canadian skywatcher Colin Chatfield caught this view of a stunning aurora display over his home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Oct. 24, 2011.
Colin Chatfield took this aurora photo in Saskatoon, SK, Canada, on October 24, 2011.
Colin Chatfield took this aurora photo in Saskatoon, SK, Canada, on October 24, 2011.
Astrophotographer Tom Dolaskie IV caught the aurora over Munising, Michigan on October 24, 2011.
Astrophotographer Tom Dolaskie IV caught the aurora over Munising, Michigan on October 24, 2011.
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.
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.
Larry W. Smith snapped this picture of the aurora in Western Kentucky on October 24, 2011.
Larry W. Smith snapped this picture of the aurora in Western Kentucky on October 24, 2011.
Jim Hammer got this aurora photograph 10 miles north of Wichita, Kansas, on October 24, 2011.
Jim Hammer got this aurora photograph 10 miles north of Wichita, Kansas, on October 24, 2011.
Pete Mumbower snagged this photo of the aurora outside Grand Rapids, Michigan, on October 24, 2011.
Pete Mumbower snagged this photo of the aurora outside Grand Rapids, Michigan, on October 24, 2011.
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.
