Evan Hunt Photography

01/19/2026

We’re on a G4 watch for tonight! Keep an eye to the sky and look north this evening! Hoping for some magical lights! ✨

Looking to learn more about the Aurora? Vincent Ledvina is a fabulous resource!

G4 / SEVERE geomagnetic storm watch issued for MONDAY NIGHT! This is the HIGHEST level of watch able to be issued by NOAA SWPC--there are decent chances for a widespread auroral display tonight with views reaching deep into mid- and even low-latitudes.

The cause? A solar storm or "CME" forecasted to impact Earth around 1 UT Jan 20 or 7 pm CST Jan 19. This is MONDAY NIGHT. All forecasts have some uncertainty, and we won't know the severity of the geomagnetic storm until the storm arrives.

Here are the key details and how you could see aurora tonight:

What happened?
Active region AR 4341 blasted off an X1.9 solar flare, the strongest since Dec 8. This launched a coronal mass ejection or CME into space which is headed right for Earth. These are like sun "sneezes," but the powerful magnetic field inside the CME can cause geomagnetic storming if it slams into Earth. This solar storm is traveling at over 1400 km/s according to models and may arrive at Earth around 1 UT Jan 20 or 7 pm CST Jan 19. Most of the space weather agencies around the world agree on this timing.

Timing?
All scientific forecasts are given in UT or Universal Time, but I have translated the CME impact time to Central Standard Time (CST) for my North American audience. All solar storm forecasts have some uncertainty, usually around +/- 7 hr, so we could see the CME impact in as early as a couple hours or as late as later tomorrow morning. Earlier impact = stronger CME = (usually) stronger geomagnetic storm. It's also ideal for the CME to impact close to nightfall since most solar storms start to fizzle out after 12-24 hours. IF the forecasts are correct and the CME hits when forecasted, auroras could be seen widespread across the U.S. right after sunset. The best views will come during substorms, though which are brief 15-30 min flareups of activity sending the aurora high in the sky thus making it visible from further away. More on these later...

Who will see aurora?
No one knows this. It's impossible to make any kind of prediction since the root cause (the solar storm) hasn't even arrived, yet! We are in a "hurry up and wait" mode watching for the impact of our CME. If the CME impacts with the forecasted strength, the auroral ovals should expand to lower latitudes probably resting somewhere over the U.S.-Canada border. This would create persistent shows overhead for those areas. Places further south would see the aurora to the north but potentially expanding overhead and high in the sky during substorms! During substorms, aurora could be seen low on the horizon all the way from the U.S.-Mexico border, perhaps! Monitoring substorm activity and the auroral in real-time (Not with the Kp or OVATION tools) is CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT for having the best chances of catching the best part of the show. I have resources at the end of this post for you to look at if you are unfamiliar with substorms.

Aurora chasing tips?
Be safe! It will be brutally cold across a lot of the Upper Midwest in the USA tonight. If you do not dress for the weather and take the right precautions, there may be deadly consequences. Stay close to home if you are chasing, bring blankets, water, and food, and tell someone your plans before you head out. Don't venture away from cell service or carry a satellite phone if you do. Pack lots of chemical handwarmers.

Also, most aurora forecasting apps will be useless once the CME hits (and are mostly useless in general). This is because the majority of the apps use Kp-based and OVATION-based products which can't tell you when a substorm is occuring. If you see the "You have a ___% chance of seeing the aurora at your location"-type of statements, that's OVATION at work. It can't track substorms.

Resources:
I have lots of helpful articles on my site designed to help aurora chasers and go beyond the surface level. You will see a lot of commentary about this storm today, but I live and breathe aurora. This is all I do. I live in Alaska and chase this every night. All of what I say comes from thousands of hours of experience.

Learn about substorms: https://theauroraguy.com/blogs/blog/what-is-an-auroral-substorm
Practical guide for substorm tracking: https://theauroraguy.com/blogs/blog/a-practical-substorm-guide
Explanation of common space weather data: https://theauroraguy.com/blogs/blog/when-will-the-aurora-be-out
Beginner's guide to aurora chasing: https://go.theauroraguy.com/ebook
Aurora photography gear guide: https://theauroraguy.com/blogs/blog/my-top-camera-gear-recommendations-for-aurora-photography

01/06/2026

The calendar has flipped, the holidays have faded, and it feels like a good moment to pause and look back.

2025 was a quieter year for me behind the camera, but a very full one in other ways. I spent much of it at art fairs—meeting fellow artists, connecting with customers, and sending my work off to new homes. Being able to bring more nature into people’s lives, while also supporting conservation organizations through those sales, was incredibly rewarding.

There was one truly unforgettable night: the G4 geomagnetic storm on November 11, 2025. Every favorite image I made last year came from that single evening. The aurora danced for hours, constantly shifting as I explored different vantage points around Mark Twain Lake, almost forming its own body of work.

As incredible as the sky was, my favorite part of the night was sharing it with my wife and our two dogs, completely alone. My favorite image isn’t the most dramatic aurora—it’s the silhouette of my wife and one of our dogs beneath it. Most of my photography comes from our shared trips, and she brings so much creativity, planning, and resourcefulness that make these images possible. That human element makes it all extra special.

#2025

11/29/2025

Today St. Louis received their first snow of the season!

On this Small Business Saturday, please don’t forget to shop small! Weather often times makes an impact on brick and mortar small businesses. Be sure to shop online today and support your favorite small businesses.

11/19/2025

Number 3/50 Limited Edition print of my work “Warbird“ delivered to a customer yesterday. This is a 25” x 45” ChromaLuxe metal print, which looks fantastic and you can count every feather on this incredible bird.

11/13/2025

Right place.
Right time.
Right equipment.
Right technique. (at least I think so)
AND the beauty of our planet.

Two nights ago, during the recent G4 geomagnetic storm, it all came together. I was so lucky to have witnessed this incredible storm and to have a beautiful location with dark skies not too far away. I watched and photographed this aurora display for hours, with this panoramic view being one of the most intense moments of the night.

I often get asked if the aurora actually looks like this to the naked eye. On this night, with the absence of moonlight, I was blown away by what I could see with my own eyes. It looked like this image - the vivid colors, structure, reflections on the water.

Although it's hard to distinguish on social media, I have put a great deal of effort into creating these images to be of high quality and high resolution, such that they can be printed large as fine art pieces for peoples' homes and workplaces. But, this is a tall order for images like these.

An intense aurora like this moves quickly and you want to use the shortest exposure possible to freeze all of its structure and detail. On this night, I used a series of f/1.4 ultra wide aperture lenses that are all optimized for astrophotography, which allowed me to keep exposures below 2 seconds while still capturing enough light. For this image, I used a 14mm ultra wide angle lens and stitched 4 images together to fit the entire arc into a single panoramic image. I can't wait to see it in large format print!

11/12/2025

Get outside & look north!

11/02/2025

Come soak in the sunshine and enjoy a beautiful stroll through the forest on a nice gravel path! Today is the final day of the Art Fair!

So many wonderful artists to explore in such a beautiful setting! Open until 4pm.

11/01/2025

It’s a beautiful fall day to take a stroll at ! Join us today for the Annual Shaw Nature Reserve Art Show!