This Is One Of the Best Places In Wyoming To See The Northern Lights

Can you see Northern Lights in Wyoming? Unobstructed and diluted by city lights, the Wyoming night sky is glorious. In fact, our lack of light pollution is what makes Wyoming a great place to view the Aurora Borealis.

Nature doesn't put on a light show every night, but when it does, Cheyenne is a prime place to catch it. Many Northern Lights watchers steak out a quiet, dark spot away from the city and set up cameras to capture the dazzling display in time-lapsed sequence.

Any clear night is a good night for sky-gazing in Wyoming. Even when the Northern Lights aren't flashing, the view is breathtaking.

Wyoming's location on the North American continent places it in one of the best spots to see the Aurora Borealis frequently.

The Aurora belt does fluctuate, based on what location over the Earth a geomagnetic storm is taking place. The Kp ratings on the belt tell you how visible the lights will be. The higher the number, the better show you'll get.

It's always fun to plan on watching the Northern Lights if you know ahead of time that they'll be visible, but it can be an amazing experience if you just happen to be in the right place at the right time and they take you by surprise. The sky will appear normal, then colors will start to glow on the horizon.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tracks and forecasts when the aurora will appear, and can give you as much as a 3-day alert that the Northern Lights could be visible in Wyoming.

The glow will intensify as the colors become more vibrant and climb higher in the sky.

At the peak of the show, the stunning colors defy description.

Then, just when your heart is about to burst from witnessing such ethereal beauty, it begins to fade...

...retreating into the night sky just as suddenly as it came in.

You never know what colors you'll see in the aurora borealis in Wyoming, but the most common are green, pink, and yellow.

The type of charged particles clashing about with the gasses in the atmosphere over the Earth determine what color the aurora will be. Particles colliding with oxygen, for example, create the typical yellow and green hues.

Blue is one of the more rare shades to see. Particles colliding with atomic nitrogen produce them...

...and nitrogen collisions can also result in brilliant, fiery red skies.

Altitude plays a part in the color scheme, too, and if solar flares are present, the lights will appear as a curtain of undulating color rather than a solid band.

Chalk it all up to one more reason to love living in Wyoming.

So if you find yourself asking, "Can you see the Northern Lights in Wyoming?" - now you know the answer. You can, and you should try! Where in Wyoming will you go to see the Northern Lights?