Editor's note: This article was written by a Townsquare Media Northern New England contributor and may contain the individual's views, opinions, or personal experiences.

The solar storm produced an incredible light display that was seen remarkably around the world!

In late March, Mother Nature put on a light show that was simply amazing. But we wouldn't even know about it without the remarkable photos and time-lapse video from Patrick Fennell.

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In chatting with Patrick, he shared that this is not common for Southern Maine,

...this was a rare event for southern Maine... where the aurora stretched nearly overhead and cover almost half the sky. More common for southern Maine are weaker aurora which would be little more than a green glow on the horizon. Also, this was somewhat of a surprise event I guess.

He's right. According to Space, it was a surprise solar storm that supercharged auroras across the U.S. and Europe on March, 23. It could be seen as far south as New Mexico and Arizona. Space weather forecasters didn't see the storm coming, as it was caused by a stealthy solar eruption.

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No, this is not an iPhone pic. From Patrick on his Facebook page,

Another shot from the aurora storm of March 23, 2023. My 15 mm lens covers about 110 degrees in width and it wasn't wide enough for this event. This is one time a fish-eye lens might have been useful. Keep looking up! Scarborough, Maine, USA, Earth.

It's actually remarkable that this was in Scarborough over the marshes. In the time-lapse video from Patrick, you can watch the lights explode. He has also edited out some of the brighter headlights and slowed it down, but it is truly breathtaking.

Thank you Patrick for your talent and for sharing such a special event that most of us slept through. I am so grateful for your talented eye.

LOOK: The most extreme temperatures in the history of every state

Stacker consulted 2021 data from the NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) to illustrate the hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in each state. Each slide also reveals the all-time highest 24-hour precipitation record and all-time highest 24-hour snowfall.

Keep reading to find out individual state records in alphabetical order.

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