Coloradans flocked to backyards, parks and empty dirt roads Tuesday night, searching for the best spot to see (and photograph) the northern lights.
A geomagnetic storm lit up the sky with hues of red and green, a phenomenon that typically has to be “severe” on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center scale to reach Colorado’s skies, so far from the poles.
Northern lights return to Colorado skies tonight as severe solar storms continue
“Just wow!!” one Colorado storm chaser wrote on social media alongside photos of the lights from North Sterling State Park in Logan County. “I’ve seen the aurora borealis overhead before when we visited Prince Edward Island but seeing it like this not far from home is just crazy!”
Just wow!! I’ve seen the aurora borealis overhead before when we visited Prince Edward Island but seeing it like this not far from home is just crazy!
📍North Sterling State Park#COwx #Colorado @BianchiWeather pic.twitter.com/e0Iw1dd26h
— Abraham -KFØMLS🌪 (@AbeSandyWX) November 12, 2025
Others said the aurora borealis was “ripping with energy” across the otherwise dark and quiet Pawnee Grasslands, northeast of Greeley in Weld County.
Pawnee Grasslands were dark, quiet, but ripping with energy! What a night. All eyes on this next impact today
#cowx pic.twitter.com/VIpkJsTt4Y
— Erock (@EZE970) November 12, 2025
Nearby, multiple people in Fort Collins said the lights nearly appeared overhead at times. Photos from the area captured the colors’ wave-like motions.
Incredible substorm in Fort Collins over the past half hour! Nearly overhead at times. #COwx #aurora pic.twitter.com/kODpuQVsu4
— Justin Hassel (@JustinH_wx) November 12, 2025
But, while the lights are best spotted in dark spots away from light pollution, some Denver Post staffers were able to see and record them from their brightly lit neighborhoods.
When giving advice to people hoping to see the aurora borealis, especially in Colorado, meteorologists usually recommend traveling north. But Tuesday night’s light show reached far south, past the Denver area and into the surrounding suburbs.
The northern lights can also be hard to see without the help of a camera’s long-exposure setting, but the vibrant reds and greens were visible to the naked eye on Tuesday.
Views of tonight’s northern lights display from Douglas County! The reds were visible to the naked eye early on, and the greens showed up too after our eyes adjusted to the dark #cowx #Auroraborealis pic.twitter.com/PNLjSkfQVj
— Lauren Penington (@laurenpenington) November 12, 2025
“The best yet in Castle Rock… light pollution and all,” one X user wrote.
The best yet in Castle Rock…light pollution and all #cowx pic.twitter.com/gzhKZpAWPL
— Brian Bledsoe
(@BrianBledsoe) November 12, 2025
We want to see your photos! Send your photos of the northern lights, including your name and where the photo was taken, to newsroom@denverpost.com.
This is a developing story and may be updated, especially with submitted photos.
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