Friday Photo #681 – Red Aurora

Photo: Red Northern lights fill the northern horizon over Lofoten, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 19, 2026. 23:23

On Monday night one of the biggest solar storms in the last 20 years hit the earth, bringing northern lights down to Italy and parts of the southern US. I’ll let the space nerds debate on how strong it actually was, as that is not my field of expertise. But for a high latitude photographer, it was just a bit, ehhh. Bigger and stronger is not always better here in the high north. For mid latitudes of (mostly) Europe, it was possibly a once in a lifetime show, though some of the aurora from 2025 might compete with it. For us up north, the following Tuesday night was a much more active and dynamic show (probably next week’s photo).

Though I must also admit, that for the stronger aurora, which move into the southern half of the horizon, my vantage point on the ‘yttersia’ of Lofoten is not always the best, as I have mountains blocking my view towards the south. And while the red color was quite vibrant, especially in the southern horizon, its was mostly just that, red color. Special, yes. Spectacular, no.

This image is taken from the beach while facing north, probably a bit after the peak activity had passed. While I have seen many nights with a fully green glowing sky, I don’t think I can remember any with a red glow such as this. But Lofoten was actually too far north for much of the more dynamic activity, which produced overhead aurora much further south. The following night the sky really was dancing, as full of color.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Viltrox 16mm f/1.8
16mm
ISO 2000
f2
5 Seconds
WB Daylight