While the current peak in solar activity has not produced any serious power outages or satellite disruptions, as some had feared, it has now and then provided beautiful sky shows for those who live in the far north.

They call the lights aurorae, and they can be a breathtaking reprieve from otherwise long, cold nights this time of year.

Last week, an expulsion of solar fury known as a coronal mass ejection slammed into Earth's protective magnetic field, and the result was another in a series of strong geomagnetic storms. This one lasted 36 hours. Some observers reported seeing the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, as far south as Washington, Wisconsin and New York.

"Being outside when a wave front like this hits is one of the most beautiful sights one can see," said John Russell, who photographed this display, which lasted through daylight on March 20 in Nome, Alaska. "For a while I just set the camera aside and watched."

"Lots of times it looks like 'they' are about 50 feet (15 meters) overhead, but to think I'm looking as far as 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) out into space!; and seeing a nice corona or rayed curtain straight overhead produces some bizzare color and perspective effects you have to see to believe."