Across the state, Coloradans have been photographing the aurora borealis — commonly referred to as the northern lights — and even seeing them with their naked eye, which typically has a harder time seeing them than cameras with the right settings.
Tuesday’s Aurora is the brightest and most vibrant blasts of the northern lights that Colorado has seen in years. The lights are produced by a geomagnetic solar storm and on a scale of 1 to 5 this weeks storm was a G-4! Meaning it is a severe magnetic storm that could cause problems with voltage, satellite tracking and can cause the Aurora to be seen in the southern states.
While they’ll be visible on Tuesday and Wednesday night, the best chance of seeing them is Tuesday from 8 to 11 p.m. Here’s how to capture some colorful images:
Set your camera up on a tripod or prop it up against something. Even the smallest movement, including from the wind, can make the photo blurry.Set your exposure to the longest possible setting. In ideal conditions, that could be about 10 seconds that you’ll want your phone as still as possible.On an iPhone, when your camera is open, swipe up to show advanced settings, and hit the image of the moon with the horizontal lines, then swipe to the left so it says “Max.” If there’s light pollution from cities or cars, the maximum exposure could be more like three or five seconds.On an Android, in the camera app, swipe the camera mode “More,” turn on “Pro,” change the ISO to something around 50, and the shutter speed to at least eight seconds.It’s also recommended that you use the button on a connected headphone or turn on timer mode so the phone doesn’t shake when you hit the button to capture the image.
CBS News Colorado staff, readers, and viewers have already taken some stunning photos.
CBS News Colorado viewer Heather Stone captured this photo of the northern lights over eastern Boulder County around 6:40 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025.
Heather Stone
CBS Colorado photographer Dale Atchinson captured the following photo from Lake Loveland around 7 p.m.
The Northern Lights are seen at Lake Loveland on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025.
CBS
While you typically need to go out to the mountains or the Eastern Plains to even see glimmers of the northern lights, countless readers and viewers reported seeing colorful streaks with their naked eye from the Denver metro area. A CBS Colorado producer took this photo in Denver’s Central Park neighborhood:
CBS
Sherry Gillooly sent the following one from Thornton:
The Northern Lights are seen from Thornton, Colorado, on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025.
Sherry Gillooly
And while the farther north you are, the more vivid the lights appear, they were captured in bright colored photos from as far south as Colorado Springs and Pagosa Springs:
The Northern Lights are seen from as far south as Colorado Springs.
Susan Anne
The northern lights are seen from Pagosa Springs, Colorado, with Pagosa Peak visible in the background, on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025.
Lesann Hollenbeck Young
If you’d like to share photos of the aurora borealis, share them with CBS Colorado here.
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