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The glowworm of headlights snaked toward Grand Teton National Park and the National Elk Refuge on Tuesday as people searched for the perfect backdrop to enjoy the epic light show above Jackson Hole. Even backyards, streets and alleyways offered stunning views of the northern lights, giving people a show from wherever they were standing.
Astronomer and Wyoming Stargazing Executive Director Samuel Singer told WyoFile that the geomagnetic storm was forecast to be most active Wednesday evening, but nearly 100% cloud cover obscured the aurora. In contrast, Tuesday evening's cloudless skies "surprisingly" rolled out the brilliant hues. The storm's geomagnetic activity reached a planetary K-index (kp) of 8, with the scale running from 1 (calm) to 9 (most extreme), according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center.
Singer noted that while auroras peak around midnight, "when most people are in bed," this celestial event peaked between 6 to 7 p.m. The early show, with more vivid colors than expected, prompted a rapid exchange of texts and phone calls, he said.
"There were a ton of people just getting home from work and having dinner," Singer said. "They looked outside and said, 'Oh my God, look at that color.'"
Dubois resident Christina Botkin and her family watched the aurora from the comfort of their home.
"Our neighborhood is at about 8,000 feet, and there's hardly any light pollution, so we had an amazing view," Botkin said. "It was the first time our kids had seen the northern lights, and they've been talking about it ever since."
Wilson resident Kim Havel described her neighbors' almost primal response to the cosmic scene, with people "howling like wolves around the neighborhood." Kyle Haynam, a longtime Moose resident, said the park had almost as many headlights as northern lights.
"I felt transported to Burning Man for a moment," Haynam said. "There was a couple parked in our driveway, having what looked like a nice date with a bottle of wine as they enjoyed the show."
Wilson resident Annabelle Reber headed out to Antelope Flats in Grand Teton National Park to get the ideal shot. She used the slow shutter feature on her cellphone to capture the colorful show over the Tetons. Awestruck aurora watchers crowded the pullouts along the highway, creating roadway conditions similar to bear jams. Reber even had to swerve around a man who suddenly ran across the road in front of her car, she told WyoFile.
Jackson resident Ike Faust and his family joined the convoy of cars headed north, eventually finding a more remote location near Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis Club.
"In Wyoming, it was the biggest northern lights show that I've ever seen," Faust said. "Even in Alaska, I have never seen that red."
On the eastern edge of Teton Park in the tiny town of Kelly, Wendell Field described the experience as his first time standing under a red aurora borealis.
"Usually, there's more green," Field said. "Sometimes the colors dance like a curtain or like seaweed in the ocean, but the reds had more of a pulsating effect."
Singer explained how cosmic rays of red and green become visible to the naked eye. He said that when big explosions occur in the outer atmosphere of the sun, solar particles collide with Earth's atmosphere. When the solar particles funnel toward the highest concentration of magnetism at the southern and northern poles, bands of colors sweep across the skies.
Red auroras, according to NASA, are created when stronger solar storms push the interaction between oxygen atoms and solar particles to higher altitudes, typically above 150 miles. Green, which is more commonly seen, results from the geomagnetic exchange occurring at lower altitudes, approximately 62 to 186 miles. Other colors, including pink, blue, purple, orange and yellow can also streak the sky when various molecules react at different elevations.
Over the past couple of days, photos of the colors dancing above Wyoming have flooded social media channels. Jackson Hole filmmaker and writer Charlie Craighead said the lights were bright enough to illuminate the foreground, creating optimal photography conditions.
"The auroras I've seen in the Arctic were really intense and focused, but here the colors seem to wash over the sky in big swaths that light up the whole landscape," Craighead said.
While photographs of the aurora can be breathtaking, Singer said nothing compares to being there during one of the "most miraculous wonders of nature."
"The difference between seeing a photograph of the northern lights and standing under the phenomenon is like the difference between seeing a photograph of the ocean and actually standing barefoot on a beach with the water hitting your ankles as you dig your toes into the sand," Singer said.