Brilliant aurora display seen over much of U.S. (with video); Northland missed out because of clouds

Aurora borealis — The northern lights shine over West Grand Traverse Bay near Traverse City, Mich., on Monday night. The lights, also known as aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere, are caused by charged particles striking the Earth's atmostphere. (Jan-Michael Stump, Record-Eagle, Associated Press)

By news@duluthnewstribune.com

October 25, 2011 at 4:52 AM

The northern lights put on a stunning display over much of the United States overnight, clearly visible as far south as Arkansas and North Carolina in shades of brilliant green and red.

A skywatcher on Michigan's Upper Peninsula reported to the website spaceweather.com that it was the best show he'd seen since 2004, filling the sky in all directions. The show was caused by a "coronal mass ejection" of energy from the sun, which hit and reacted with Earth's magnetic field.

Alas, the Northland was almost if not entirely socked in by clouds and missed out on the show. If you managed to find a break in the cloud cover and capture any photos you'd be willing to share, post them to the News Tribune Facebook page or send them to photo@duluthnews.com .

Meanwhile, here are some videos posted to YouTube of last night's aurora over other parts of North America:

Over East Martin, Mich., in the southwestern part of the state (watch for the explosion of color 17 seconds in):

Over Drake, Mo.:

Over London, Ontario:

Find links to more photos and information about the show on the News Tribune's Astro Bob blog and at the Space Weather website .