Aurora Viewers Share Stunning Photos of the Northern Lights

The sun is in a sharing mood and aurora watchers are basking in the glow. Our nearest star has been spitting out flares and sending solar material careening toward Earth, where it’s creating some of the brightest and widest-reaching auroras in years. Thursday night was a particularly wild show, with the northern lights stretching deep down into the US.

We’ve rounded up aurora views from across the country, from CNET staffers and their families and friends — and even one from up in space. Enjoy the swirling, colorful lights and keep an eye on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center for aurora forecasts. The sun will remain geomagnetically ill-tempered, giving skywatchers more opportunities to catch the northern lights.

International Space Station

One of the most awe-inspiring views of the aurora came from the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Don Pettit shared a snapshot on X showing parts of the ISS in the foreground with a blazing green and red aurora dancing over Earth below. 

“Stunning was the word,” Pettit wrote. “It looked like the space station had been shrunk to some miniature dimension and inserted into a neon sign. We were not flying above the aurora; we were flying in the aurora. And it was blood red.” Pettit used a Nikon Z9 for the shot.

Virginia

CNET’s James Bricknell used the astrophotography setting on a Google Pixel Fold to capture a glowing purple aurora from the northern reaches of Virginia. 

Kansas

CNET’s Chris Wedel witnessed the shifting red and green colors of the aurora from Lyon County, Kansas. This image is from a Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold using the Night Sight setting — read CNET’s tips on how to take better night-mode photos here.

Kari Wedel used a handheld Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 with the auto night mode setting to get this view of the aurora along with the green leaves of the trees in the foreground. 

South Carolina

The aurora lit up the sky in Tega Cay, South Carolina, creating a rosy glow over the water. CNET’s Erica Devaney used an iPhone 15 Pro for this view.

New Mexico

The aurora stretched far to the south on Thursday. This blush-like aurora glow was seen from Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a scrubby desert landscape below. Virginia Thompson captured the view with a Moto G Power phone.

New York

This serene scene shows a green and purple aurora reflecting in water. CNET’s Richard Peterson snapped this beauty with an iPhone 14 Pro using a 1-second exposure in Monroe, New York.

The red aurora flits above a house with lit windows. It took 3 seconds with an iPhone 14 Pro for CNET’s Jeffrey Hazelwood to capture this scene in the Catskill Mountains.

Pennsylvania

The aurora lights kicked up at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. Dean Myers used an iPhone 15 to spot this ethereal purple-red glow.

Missouri

Ciearra Jackson’s iPhone 14 Pro Max delivered a stunner of a shot highlighting tall trees in the foreground with a blazing aurora reaching into the sky above Hillsboro, Missouri.

Angie Olive’s iPhone 13 picked up this dance of green and red lights from Festus, Missouri.

Oregon

Sarah Marcus’ photo was taken from a field in Dundee, Oregon, using a Samsung Galaxy S10, manual settings, ISO 500, 26mm, f/2.4 with a 20-second exposure.

Alaska

As far north as it is, Alaska had a fabulous show of the northern lights in its skies.