Colorado’s Three-Night Aurora Spectacle: A Front-Row Seat in Boulder

If you live in Colorado, chances are your group chats, social feeds, and late-night drives have had a single theme this week: “the northern lights” or Aurora Borealis. A rare and powerful series of solar storms lit up our skies for three incredible nights, turning the State and the Front Range where I live into an impromptu aurora-watching festival. And for those of us in Boulder, it felt almost surreal—like the sky was auditioning for a cosmic art show.

I spent the second night of the storm in North Boulder, near the Boulder airport, where the horizon opened wide and unobstructed. The entire sky turned into a living canvas of green waves, red pillars, and the occasional burst of purple and white that seemed to shimmer right above the city. It wasn’t the faint glow we sometimes get during minor geomagnetic storms—this was full-sky illumination, bright enough to make out colors with the naked eye. For a moment, it felt like Colorado had shifted a thousand miles north.

What Powered This Aurora Outburst?

This week’s display came from a trio of coronal mass ejections (CMEs)—huge bubbles of charged particles hurled from the sun. Two CMEs hit on Tuesday, sparking the massive auroral activity. A third arrived early Wednesday, setting up the rare chance for Colorado to enjoy a third consecutive night of sky shows.

If you want to watch the data in real time and see when your part of the country will have a chance at seeing these magical lights, head to spaceweatherlive.com and keep an eye on Bz, a key measurement of the interplanetary magnetic field.

Bz positive (+):  magnetic field points north → auroras weaken

Bz negative (–): magnetic field points south → auroras become supercharged

Think of it like this:

A strong negative Bz is the universe kicking the door open and shouting, “Let the sparks fly and let the sky party begin!”

 A positive Bz is someone closing the door and double-locking it.

For truly wild displays, Bz dropping to –20 is enough to get aurora hunters buzzing. Last night in Colorado, it plunged to –60—an almost absurd number—which is why the aurora stretched as far south as Mexico and Chile.

Gear That Helps You Enjoy the Dark

Nights like these remind me why I appreciate good outdoor gear. A simple, portable lantern such as the NestOut LAMP-1 can make nighttime photography or waiting for the aurora far more comfortable. It’s a rugged, modular light that pairs with the brand’s batteries, giving you adjustable brightness whether you need full visibility or a soft glow that won’t ruin your night vision.

For those exploring deeper into the darkness—whether for wildlife viewing, backcountry travel, or professional use—Armasight’s thermal and night-vision tools offer another dimension of awareness. Their compact thermal monoculars and clip-on optics help users spot heat signatures and movement quickly, a useful edge for scouting or navigating safely after sunset. During the Armasight Thermal Advantage Sale certain optics are 10% including 2024 Outdoor Life’s Editors Choice for Most Innovative Product Sidekick 320 Mini Thermal Monocular.

Whether you caught the aurora from Boulder, Denver, the plains, or the mountains, this week will be one for Colorado’s history books. And, if tonight brings one more round? I’ll be right back outside, eyes up.