Northern lights, cameras and little action: Clouds mar rare appearance for Aurora Borealis

Sky gazers get a glimpse of the northern lights The northern lights made a dazzling appearance for people living along the Canada-U.S. border over the weekend.

Cloud cover largely spoiled a rare appearance of the northern lights over parts of southern Canada Sunday night, although some skywatchers along the Canada-U.S. border did catch a glimpse of the elusive Aurora Borealis.

The electromagnetic light show is typically confined to the more northern reaches of the country, but the Earth’s magnetic field reacted to an unusually large blast of plasma from the sun on July 14, creating the conditions necessary to spread the aurora farther south. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had predicted the northern lights would be visible as far south as New England.

The northern lights easily bumped the “Game of Thrones” season premiere off many people’s schedules, but judging from the social media reaction, results were mixed.

A handful of Canadian weather enthusiasts in Western Canada captured some good photos of the sky. However, most of the best photos came out of the northern United States.

But while some enjoyed the spectacle, many more fell asleep waiting for a light show that would never arrive.