Did you see the northern lights across North Texas on Tuesday night? The rare sight brought a colorful display of hues that are not often seen in our night sky.

McKenna Dowd with UT Arlington’s Planetarium spends her day explaining things like the northern lights to students.

“The northern lights is when energy from the sun interacts with the Earth’s atmosphere, creating a color show in our night sky,” said Dowd.

Seeing the lights in the southern United States is a rare sight.

The northern lights over Cleburne, Texas, on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025.

Jerry H

Jerry H

The northern lights over Cleburne, Texas, on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025.

“It takes a very strong magnetic storm for it to be seen,” said UTA Planetarium Director Levent Gurdemir.

How bright and how far south the northern lights will be visible is hard to predict.

“Those are very difficult to forecast, almost impossible to forecast,” Gurdemir said.

Experts said it depends on when the solar bursts arrive and how they interact with the Earth’s atmosphere, but with another chance on Wednesday, Dowd said it’s worth going outside and looking up.

“Any sort of celestial event is incredible because we all share the night sky,” Dowd said.

Dowd suggests getting away from city lights and using your camera. It can pick up the lights better than the naked eye.

Photographer Matt Lantz drove an hour west of his Aledo home to capture the lights after first seeing them from his back porch Tuesday.

“It was pretty special. I think this happened last year, and it was just this faint red glow in the sky. But to see actual pillars, nd then when I got home to put them in an actual timelapse to see them move, man, that was pretty special. Something I’ve never seen in my life,” said Lantz.

While experts have said the lights may not be visible until late Wednesday, Lantz was in place early hoping to capture them again.

For those hoping to do the same with their phone, he recommends night mode for long exposure.

“You want to have your shutter open as long as possible. You want to point it to the north, and your camera may be able to see what your eyes can’t see. Hold your hand really still, hold the camera really still, until it’s done taking the picture,” he said.