northern lights

Aurora borealis lights up the sky northwest of Lawrence, Kan., Nov. 8, 2004. The borealis were easily seen with clear skies and a late-rising crescent moon, making for optimum conditions.

The northern lights are seen above the Grand Traverse Common's building 50 in Traverse City, Mich., Nov. 8, 2004.

The aurora borealis lights up the sky above a field in the early morning in Kitchener Ont., Nov. 8, 2004. The Northern lights, as they are commonly called, are produced when magnetic disturbances from the sun produce light when colliding with atoms in the upper atmosphere.

The Auroral Borealis, or Northern lights, light up the sky, Nov. 7, 2004, in Merrick County, Neb., as lights from a passing car leaves red and white streaks in this 30-second exposure.

The Big Sable Point Lighthouse, near Ludington, Mich., stands tall beneath a fading display of northern lights, Nov. 7, 2004. According to a NASA Web site, the lights are caused by collisions between fast-moving electrons and the oxygen and nitrogen in Earth's upper atmosphere.

Northern lights shimmer over Lake Michigan and Ludington (Mich.) State Park as cars travel along M-116, Nov. 7, 2004. The display peaked about 9 p.m. before the aurora borealis began to fade.

The aurora borealis, or northern lights, light up the western sky over downtown Saginaw, Mich., and the Saginaw River, Nov. 7, 2004.

Northern lights are shown in the sky outside of Racine, Wis., Nov. 7, 2004.

Northern lights are shown above a covered bridge at Wilkinson Pioneer Park in Rock Falls, Iowa, Nov. 7, 2004.

The glow of the northern lights are visible north of Appleton, Wis., Nov. 7, 2004.

Green hues of the aurora borealis fill the sky above a farm along Highway D near Lake Church, Wis., Nov. 7, 2004.

A barn is silhouetted by the northern lights, Nov. 7, 2004, near Monticello, Ill.

The aurora borealis lights up the night sky north of Dunkerton, Iowa, Nov. 7, 2004.

The aurora borealis lights up the night sky over Vincennes, Ind., Nov. 7, 2004.

Electrically charged particles from the sun dance across the night sky as the aurora borealis, or Northern lights, makes an appearance after midnight in the Town of Brookfield, Wis., Nov. 8, 2004. Sam Guldan, 21, witnessed the celestial event that occurs most frequently during at the height of the 11-year sunspot cycle.