January 19 - 20th 2026: Sunlight Aurora

A big and very fast (estimated 1700 km/s) earth-directed CME struck Earth on January 19th, initially casting bright auroras all over Europe. Once evening became dark enough in Colorado, there persisted a strong red glow to the north. It made for an amazing sight paired with the winter Milky Way dividing the sky. It was magical but not much action besides the pretty pink glow.

I took some rest and just so happened to wake up around 4am. I checked the apps and live data, and couldn’t believe that a substorm was brewing. What luck! I captured a test shot out the bedroom window and saw the pink glow. I got up and got dressed, grabbed the Nikon and headed out the door. It was just starting to become visible unaided when I got to my photo spot, and I could see pillars quickly growing and spreading along the northern horizon.

I set up for some panos, and 20 second exposures were way too long. It was moving so fast. At one point the pillars flared up like two horns (🤘) and the eastern limb just kept on growing and moving east. It was huge, it looked like a big blue spiral extending off the end of the aurora curtain. I watched in awe and let the cam capture a timpelapse (below). It went on for 10 or 20 minutes then started to wane. I was cold and tired, but sooo excited. What a sight to behold! And from Colorado (not even Alaska)!

It is so fun chasing aurora, especially when they are naked eye visible and I can see the pillars, movement and other features. Having the camera to enhance the colors is like seeing the world through a different and magical dimension. What a treat!