An extraordinary display of northern lights illuminated the skies over Wyoming and much of the Northern Hemisphere on Tuesday night, creating what experienced aurora photographers are calling the most spectacular show ever witnessed in the state. The intense auroras were so powerful and widespread that they stretched across the entire sky, visible even to the naked eye in urban areas.
Pinedale photographer Dave Bell, who has decades of experience capturing auroras, rushed to Seven Mile River Ranch between Daniel and Pinedale when he learned about the incoming coronal mass ejections (CMEs). What he witnessed exceeded all his expectations. "What impressed me was the width and breadth of the lights," Bell explained. "They stretched 180 degrees, north to south, across the sky. You'd look straight up, and there was a big white cloud that had formed overhead. In the camera's eyes, it was brilliant green. It encompassed the entire sky."
From his vantage point on a high bluff overlooking the river, Bell captured more than 840 photographs using two cameras, documenting the red and green skies overhead. The reflection from the water and silhouetted cottonwood trees created what he described as "an unbelievable vantage point" for his shots. "Boy, did Mother Nature ever give us a show last night," he said.
The spectacular display wasn't limited to professional photographers. Bell was joined by hundreds of Wyoming residents who shared their aurora sightings on social media, including several sheriff's offices that parked their patrol cars beneath the dancing lights to capture the moment. The widespread visibility of the aurora demonstrated just how intense this particular geomagnetic event was.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), Tuesday's aurora was caused by two CMEs that erupted from the sun's surface 48 to 72 hours earlier. Jan Curtis, a retired meteorologist and former Wyoming State climatologist, explained the amplified effect: "When multiple CMEs arrive at the same time, they have an amplifying effect. It's not just one after another. It actually doubles or triples the intensity of each CME because of the way they overlap and interact with each other."
The combined impact was extraordinary. Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day reported that the aurora was visible in 45 states, making it one of the most widespread displays in recent memory. By the time the CMEs reached Earth, they were traveling at 4.4 million mph and had intensified into a Severe G4 geomagnetic storm – just one level below the maximum G5 rating on the SWPC's scale.
The storm was so powerful that auroras were visible as far south as Mexico, easily making it the most intense geomagnetic storm of 2025 and rivaling the remarkable May 2024 event. "This one rivaled the one we had in May 2024, which was pretty remarkable," Day noted. "It was a spectacular show." Curtis confirmed that Tuesday night's auroras occurred under similar circumstances to the May 2024 event, with multiple CMEs amplifying each other and favorable atmospheric conditions adding to the intensity.
"We had a nice trio of indices," Curtis explained. "There was a lot of density in the solar winds, which means there were a lot of particles to excite in our atmosphere. We also had negative Bz, which basically means the Earth's magnetic field embraced the solar winds rather than repulsing them. That caused them to fall further into the Earth's atmosphere."
Photographer Laura Redmond from Bar Nunn had been monitoring the approaching CMEs throughout the day, recognizing early that this would be a night to remember. "I had been monitoring the numbers all day," she said. "By 4:30 p.m., I called all my friends and told them to get their stuff ready. By 6 p.m., I could see them in town with the naked eye." She rushed to Poison Spider Road west of Casper, positioning herself in "the middle of nowhere" for optimal viewing conditions.
Redmond began photographing at 7 p.m. and continued until after midnight, witnessing phenomena she had never seen before. "It was pretty phenomenal," she said. "I saw things that I hadn't seen before." Among the unique sights were several Stable Aurora Red (SAR) arcs streaking across the sky at different speeds, creating an ever-changing tapestry of vibrant reds and pinks with streaks of green, white, and purple around the edges.
"One of the things that I saw that I hadn't seen before was a ribbon right on the edge of the aurora," Redmond described. "It looked like a snake, moving pretty fast through the sky, and that was fun to watch." She also captured a rare auroral phenomenon called a "picket fence" – a strong thermal emission velocity enhancement (STEVE), which is a super-hot streak of plasma that only occurs during intense CME events. "It's always a fun phenomenon, but this one went right over my head," she said. "I loved it."
What made Tuesday night's display particularly special was the staggered arrival of the two CMEs. "The one that was slower hit first," Redmond explained. "Then, the one that was moving faster hit an hour or two after the first. That's why we had such a display like we did. It was one CME after another." This timing created dynamic changes in the aurora throughout the night, keeping photographers and observers captivated for hours.
The color palette of Tuesday's aurora was especially remarkable. While green auroras are the most common, Tuesday night's skies were dominated by red hues. "There was a lot of red last night, which is very unique," Redmond noted. "You usually don't get a ton of red. We've gotten some good shows in Wyoming, but last night was unique. It's the best I've ever seen in Wyoming."
The SWPC issued another Severe Geomagnetic Storm Watch for Wednesday night, as an additional CME was expected to reach Earth around noon. Curtis believed there was a strong possibility of another spectacular display. "The likelihood of another intense aurora event not happening on Wednesday night is very slim, but there are no guarantees," he said. "We'll only know when it eventually hits the Earth and we can measure it directly. If it does take place, I suspect it'll be in the evening hours, right after sunset, where it gets dark."
However, weather conditions for Wednesday night were expected to be less favorable than Tuesday's relatively clear skies. "The aurora was so bright that people could see the glow even with some cloud cover, but if there is another aurora tonight, we're going to have more clouds," Day warned.
Curtis noted that the sun is beginning to drop out of its solar maximum – a period characterized by abundant sunspots that generate CMEs and increase the likelihood of auroras over Earth. "The sun goes through an 11-to-22-year cycle when it goes from very active to very quiet," he explained. "I would say that we have a six-to-nine-month window before these types of events have a very low probability of occurring until the next maximum cycle."
Despite the potential for cloud cover, both Redmond and Bell were prepared for another night of aurora hunting. Redmond planned to find the clearest skies possible: "I'm looking to see where the least amount of clouds are going to be tonight and hopefully drive somewhere to get out of the clouds. As long as you can see stars or you have a break in the horizon, you should be able to see the aurora." Bell, meanwhile, was focused on recovering from his late-night photography session while preparing for another potential spectacle. "The talk is that the CME rolling in is going to be a doozy," he said. "If it's big, I'll be somewhere. I haven't decided where yet, but I know I've got to get some sleep before tonight."
