A report on the Northern Lights from 19/20.01.2026 with pictures and impressions by Dr. Gerold Holtkamp, Dr. Thomas Kunzemann, Carsten Debbe, Olaf Homeier, Anja Drews and Dr. Achim Tegeler

The Sun is still very active in January 2026 and hurled a huge cloud of charged particles (solar wind) towards the Earth on January 18 at 7:09 p.m. These particles were traveling at the tremendous speed of about 1700 km/s and therefore hit the Earth's atmosphere on January 19 at around 8:30 p.m. – after about 150 million km of travel in only 25 hours!

The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Space Weather Prediction Center) had already sent the first reports in the early evening that there would be considerable influences on Earth (up to a Kp value of 8 to 9!).

That's why many of us have been outside despite the cold and looked for the Northern Lights – and yes, what a spectacle in the sky:

Gerold Holtkamp observed from his home garden on Osnabrück's Sonnenhügel and photographed the play of colours – here are his impressions:

"The night of January 19 to 20 should be clear. After a very long time of clouds, astronomical observation would finally be possible again. For the second half of the night, even strong auroras were predicted.

Whether it would reach us was not certain. So I had set up my telescope with camera and had already started a series of images lasting several hours.

What happened in the sky was breathtaking. At first, the northern horizon was brighter than usual. At first it seemed to me as if the sky was illuminated with disco spotlights in some places. It quickly became clear to me that it was already the announced Northern Lights. What a light show was building up there in the sky! A green ribbon on the horizon, then red curtains moving above it with clearly recognizable streamers and finally even green auroras directly above me and even in the south. I had never experienced anything like this in Osnabrück!"

And here are two animated shots of Gerold:

Thomas Kunzemann observed from Preußisch Oldendorf – his impressions:

„.. When the first reports of sightings came in the evening, I made my way into the open field north of Offelten. It is quite dark there and you have a clear view of the horizon, especially to the north. There was only a faint red glow and a greenish brightening on the northern horizon. I knew from previous aurora observations that this can change quickly, so I put my camera on the tripod and waited. After a short time, the green arc in the north intensified and the red light above it also became much brighter. In the red part, the first streamers appeared, which are brighter columns formed by magnetic field lines. The green light increased more and even outshone some stars in the Big Dipper, which at that time stood with the drawbar down in the northeast. The green glow became so strong that I could even see my own shadow. Then something unusual for our latitudes happened: light green stripes appeared in the sky, wafting around like curtains. You usually only see something like this much further north. Every second, these green stripes changed their shapes and danced across the entire sky. They even appeared in the south, in the constellation of Orion. After more than an hour, the green curtains disappeared from the sky and there was still an impressive play of colors in the northern sky, which lasted for another half hour."

Olaf Homeier observed from his garden in Pye and admired the play of colours above the houses:

Olaf's Allsky camera recorded the spectacle throughout the night:

Carsten Debbe observed from Melle and wrote in the round:

"I was only outside with a camera. You didn't even know where to turn first..."

He arranged his photos to a little movie that could be seen at our youtube channel . 

Achim Tegeler made his way to the former sports field of the British Armed Forces on Fürstenauer Weg and was able to observe the play of colours in the north above the illuminated grounds of the Koch forwarding company:

But a little later there was also a lot going on in the south and west.

Anja Drews Anja Drews slept through Monday evening in the truest sense of the word. But who says that you can't still spot the Northern Lights the next evening:

"After I had slept through the Northern Lights on Monday, I went off again on Tuesday 20.01.26 in good spirits to take pictures. And I was lucky. In Hasbergen, I was able to find a great observation point, with an unobstructed view to the northwest."

The sun has already "provided" us with really great auroras in 2024 (see our reports)but we have probably never had such a spectacle as on 19/20.01.2026 in Osnabrück - green aurora curtains in the south - hard to believe!

An impressive experience for all those who were able to experience it with their own eyes!