Photos: Northern Lights Illuminate Colorado Skies Tuesday Night

Things have been rough here on Earth lately, but the sky just keeps delivering. Last week, the biggest supermoon of the year rose in the sky (albeit at 4:30 p.m.), and last night, the Northern Lights made a special 11/11 appearance across the U.S., dazzling people with vibrant red, green, purple and magenta tones.

Like the last instance of the Northern Lights in Colorado in June, the aurora borealis was caused by a severe geometric storm that resulted in multiple coronal mass ejections. CMEs are eruptions of plasma from the sun that can reach Earth in as little as 15 to 18 hours, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The current storm is still ongoing and ranks as one of the strongest geometric storms this year, according to space.com.

Iif you missed the lights last night, you might have another chance to see them tonight: Another CME released yesterday is still on the way, with predictions that northern lights might appear even farther south tonight.

Last night, social media was flooded with photos of the aurora borealis, with many excited Coloradans saying that it was their first time seeing the special cosmic event. While many photographers jumped at the opportunity to capture the lights, you don’t need a fancy camera to do so. Capture the aurora borealis on an iPhone by setting your phone camera to “night mode” and turning flash off. Exposure and shutter speed should be low, but experiment as needed.

Cameras can capture colors that can’t be seen with the naked eye, but if the lights are strong enough, they will be visible without a camera.

We compiled some shots of the aurora borealis taken by people all around Colorado — from Buena Vista to Evergreen.

Did you see the northern lights last night? Send your photos to editorial@westword.com for a chance to have them featured.