Central Texas experienced visible northern lights on Tuesday and Wednesday nights after a geomagnetic storm, and readers submitted striking photos. The Sun emitted coronal mass ejections between Oct. 11 and Oct. 13, which guided charged particles toward Earth’s poles and sparked the aurora. Auroral colors depend on which gases are struck and the altitude of collisions (green ≈100–300 km, red >300 km, purple/pink and blue from nitrogen). While geomagnetic storms can affect electronics, no major impacts were expected from this event.
Readers Share Striking Photos of Northern Lights Over Central Texas After Geomagnetic Storm
Central Texas experienced visible northern lights on Tuesday and Wednesday nights after a geomagnetic storm, and readers submitted striking photos. The Sun emitted coronal mass ejections between Oct. 11 and Oct. 13, which guided charged particles toward Earth’s poles and sparked the aurora. Auroral colors depend on which gases are struck and the altitude of collisions (green ≈100–300 km, red >300 km, purple/pink and blue from nitrogen). While geomagnetic storms can affect electronics, no major impacts were expected from this event.
06:55 AM, 11/14/2025Science
Readers' Photos: Northern Lights Illuminate Central Texas
A recent geomagnetic storm produced vivid auroral displays visible across parts of Central Texas on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Readers responded with striking photos showing green, red and purple curtains of light stretching across the night sky. Texas was among at least 21 states that had the potential to see the aurora during this event.
What happened
According to the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center, the Sun released a series of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) between Oct. 11 and Oct. 13. When those charged particles reached Earth, they were guided by the planet’s magnetic field toward the polar regions. The magnetic field lines converge near the magnetic poles, which is why auroras are usually strongest at high latitudes — though strong geomagnetic storms can push them much farther from the poles.
How auroras form
As solar particles strike atoms and molecules such as oxygen and nitrogen in Earth’s upper atmosphere, the collisions temporarily excite those atoms and raise their energy. When the atoms release that energy, we see the glowing colors of the aurora. The shapes — rays, spirals and flickering curtains — result from the way charged particles follow magnetic field lines and interact with the atmosphere.
Colors depend on gas and altitude:
- Green: oxygen roughly 100–300 kilometers above Earth
- Red: oxygen at altitudes above about 300 kilometers
- Purple/Pink: excited nitrogen molecules
- Blue: nitrogen at lower altitudes
The same physics produces the southern lights, known as the aurora australis, in the Southern Hemisphere.
Impacts and safety
While weaker solar activity often goes unnoticed, strong geomagnetic storms can cause temporary disruptions to radio communications, GPS signals and power systems. For this event, no major disruptions were expected — the most visible effect for many people was the spectacular auroral display.
Earth’s magnetic field acts as a protective shield against the solar wind; when intense solar particles reach the atmosphere near the poles, they interact with gases there and produce the colorful auroras observers enjoyed this week.
Photos: Below are some of the images submitted by our readers capturing this rare view over Central Texas.