Click here for updates on this storyPLACERVILLE, Calif. (KCRA) — A few dozen people made their way to the Placerville Observatory on Monday night, hoping to catch a rare glimpse of the Northern Lights, which were visible only through a camera lens. “It was just like reddish pinkish and it was really light.”The observatory, located away from city lights and above the fog line, offered a prime location to attempt to view the Northern Lights. “It’s rare to see the aurora down this far south,” Raj Dixit of the Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society said. “I, quite frankly, thought I might never see them during my own lifetime unless I was willing to pony up for a trip to Norway or Alaska or Iceland or Finland. Normally, you have to go to the Arctic Circle.”The aurora was spawned from a coronal mass ejection, known as a CME, which created a strong geomagnetic storm in Earth’s magnetic fields.

Source: CNN January 20, 2026 19:18 UTC