Two weeks ago stargazers around the world were outdoors in force. The moon, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars were clustered together in the evening sky on April 6 for a picturesque display just after sunset. With cameras poised to record the spectacle, observers were treated to a dazzling show -- but it wasn't the show they expected! The sky, instead of darkening as the sun sank below the western horizon, turned vivid red, then green and shimmering yellow. It was a rare and unexpected display of aurora borealis seen as far south as Texas and Florida.

"My intent was to capture the crescent moon along with Saturn, Jupiter and Mars," said Keith Cooley, an amateur astrophotographer in Athens, Alabama. "The aurora flare up was sudden and without warning! It was my first observation ever of such an event."

The celestial display started around 1630 UT on April 6 when a powerful interplanetary shock wave passed by the Earth. Aurora borealis was observed almost immediately over Asia and Europe. Auroras, or "Northern Lights", are usually confined to high latitudes, but this was the biggest geomagnetic storm in years. By 2000 UT, observers in central Europe were reporting colorful lights in the sky.

Full Story w/ Photos: http://www.spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ast25apr_1m.htm