The aurora borealis illuminate the night sky in Peosta, Iowa, Monday Nov. 5, 2001. The Northern Lights occur when charged particles streaming away from the sun interact with different gases in Earth's atmosphere. Brian Murphy, director of Butler University's Holcomb Observatory in Indianapolis said a large solar flare on Sunday probably caused the lights to be visible farther south than usual, treating onlookers as far south as Georgia and Alabama to a shimmering display of blue, red and green. (AP Photo/Telegraph Herald, Dave Kettering)