Fort Collins residents were treated to a rare sight around 6:45 p.m. the evening of the 11th, as the aurora borealis illuminated the sky.
Red pillars rippled upward against a glowing green backdrop, visible to a degree from within the city, but plainly visible at Horsetooth Reservoir. The chance light show, caused by heightened solar activity, drew a large crowd to capture photos and admire the event.
The aurora was visible to the naked eye, though its vivid colors and detail appeared even more striking when captured by camera.
Per a Space Weather Predication Center video posted to X/Twitter (@NWSSWPC) after 8:00 p.m., two out of three coronal mass ejections (CMEs) had impacted the planet, with a third predicted to impact around midday eastern time on November 12th, offering a chance of a second showing that evening.
CMEs are massive bursts of plasma and magnetic fields released from the Sun’s corona (its outer atmosphere). When a CME erupts, it sends charged particles hurtling through space. If one of these ejections is directed toward Earth, the particles can interact with our planet’s magnetic field causing geomagnetic storms that produce auroras.