The Aurora Borealis was spotted in a large swath of states, including Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Washington state. Northern lights were visible as far south as parts of Florida and Alabama, a relatively rare occurrence that highlights the severity of this week's storms.

Increased solar activity causes auroras that dance around Earth’s poles, known as the northern lights, or aurora borealis, and southern lights, or aurora australis. When the energized particles from coronal mass ejections reach Earth’s magnetic field, they interact with gases in the atmosphere to create different colored lights in the sky.

The northern lights occur as a consequence of solar activity and result from collisions of charged particles in the solar wind colliding with molecules in the Earth's upper atmosphere. The best conditions to view the lights are when the sky is dark and clear of any clouds.

Fans who attended or watched Wednesday's MAC showdown between Toledo and Miami (Ohio) got a special treat in the third quarter.

Solar storms​ may bring the colorful northern lights, or aurora borealis, back to North Georgia on Wednesday night.

Bands of green and red first pierced through the hazy night sky around 9:30 p.m. above the pier at Grand Haven State Park.

The Statesman collaborated with readers to gather photos of the aurora borealis throughout Central Texas. Here are the eerily beautiful results.

The University of Alaska and Space Weather Prediction Center forecasts say the best chance of seeing the northern lights starts as early as 10 p.m. ET Tuesday and will last until around 1 a.m. Wednesday.