Northern lights were visible across northern Canada and parts of the northern United States on March 1, 2011 due to a geomagnetic storm caused by a coronal mass ejection from the sun two days prior. Amateur photographers were able to capture stunning photos of the aurora borealis displaying green and purple colors dancing across the night sky as the charged particles from the solar wind collided with Earth's atmosphere. The aurora activity was expected to continue over the next day or two as the effects of the solar storm impacted the Earth's magnetosphere.