January Northern Lights Seen From Gillette Wyoming

Another great shot of the Northern Lights as they made their way all the way down into Wyoming, between Monday night and Tuesday, early morning.

Dona Mansell of Gillette, Wyoming, looked out her window at around 3 am on Tuesday and saw this in the night sky.

I sent them to regional weatherman Don Day, down in Cheyenne, who said that they were a lot weaker down where he was. I was up in Casper, and I could not see anything due to cloud cover.

The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) were highly likely visible in Wyoming during January 2026, especially around January 19-20, due to a severe (G4) geomagnetic storm from a massive Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) impacting Earth, bringing aurora visibility much further south than usual, including Wyoming, with peak times around 10 PM to 2 AM in dark, clear locations facing north.

A solar radiation storm, ranked at a level four out of five on a severity scale, was being tracked by the National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center, or SWPC.

“An S4 severe solar radiation storm is now in progress - this is the largest solar radiation storm in over 20 years,” SWPC shared on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The last time S4 levels were observed was in October 2003. Potential effects are mainly limited to space launch, aviation, and satellite operations.”

How to See Them (General Tips):
Darkness & Clear Skies: Get away from city lights and find a spot with clear, cloud-free northern horizons.

Face North: Look towards the north-northeast horizon.

Peak Times: Best viewing is typically between 10 PM and 2 AM.

Patience: Give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust to the dark

If you missed them last night, you'll have one last chance Tuesday night.