Road show

The Northern Lights viewing zone extended as far south as Alabama last week when solar particles erupted from an extra-large sunspot and collided with atoms in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Sky watchers were buzzing in astronomy chat rooms about the unusually bright displays, and a Massachusetts newspaper blared: “Aurora Borealis Wows Cape Cod.” The phenomenon is typically most spectacular to watch in the northern parts of Greenland, Alaska, Canada and Russia. Above, the view in Kitchener, Ontario.