Cannibal solar storm sparks dazzling northern lights across Europe and North America (photos)

A cannibal solar storm slammed into Earth's magnetic field around 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) on Sept. 1, sparking a geomagnetic storm that lit up skies across Europe and North America overnight.

The storm reached G2 (moderate) levels according to both the U.K. Met Office and NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), and while different conditions could have produced even more intense auroras, skywatchers still managed to capture dazzling displays of the northern lights.

This storm was described as a "cannibal CME," whereby one coronal mass ejection sweeps up another en route to Earth, creating a more complex and often more powerful disturbance in the solar wind.

Forecasts had hinted at the potential for a much stronger event. The U.K. Met Office and NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Cente