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.

A forecast map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed that at least 21 states could potentially see the aurora, and that the view could last into early Wednesday, Nov. 12. According to NOAA, the northern lights are usually best viewed an hour or two before midnight.

On Tuesday, NOAA issued a G4, or severe, geomagnetic storm watch in response to recent coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, from the sun. CMEs are huge bubbles of coronal plasma that the sun occasionally ejects, NASA says. The highest geomagnetic storm level is G5, which is considered extreme.

Nature offers many dazzling displays, from jagged flashes of lightning to radiant sunsets. But perhaps one of the most elusive natural phenomena is the shimmering waves of green, pink, and red dancing across the night sky,

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.

Set shutter speed between 5 to 15 seconds. This allows enough time to capture the moving lights but not too long to appear blurry. Manually focus by tapping on an area with a lot of light. Using your phone's flash will overpower the natural light of the aurora. This helps to keep your phone still.

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

Miss Tuesday night's display? You will be able to see the northern lights tonight in Chicago and Illinois on the second night of a geomagnetic storm.

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.