Aurora At Last

the first time we've seen the northern lights from our little cabin in the northern woods

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Ever since moving to Maine, our family has been hoping to catch a glimpse of the northern lights. We’ve learned a few things about the aurora - mainly that for all of the years that we’ve been living here, we’ve been in a part of the solar cycle with low activity and very rare instances of visibility in our part of the state.

But now, we’re approaching a solar maximum - and it’s a dramatically different story!

a word about smartphones

Night sky viewing, and the aurora in particular, is one of a handful of nature connections that is actually greatly enhanced by a smartphone. Much like a microscope unlocks a world of beauty in a drop of pond water that would otherwise be beyond the reach of our eyes - the sensor in your smartphone’s camera gathers light from the night sky that is otherwise beyond your visual reach.

A few visible stars will quickly multiply into their actual millions in your camera’s screen. A faint wash of aurora color will slowly saturate, revealing the drama of color and movement that is actually unfolding, faintly hinted beyond a veil of visual limitations, just waiting to be discovered.

With three phones among the five of us, we excitedly pointed out possible areas of interest, and gathered expectantly around screens to watch the results grow bright before our eyes. The anticipation, the excitement, the awe as the barely-hoped-for materialized into full-color-reality.

Favorite photos were quickly dispersed to friends and family, amazement experienced and shared in an instant. To be curious, to be amazed, to discover in real time, and to connect with the world. Best possible use of a smartphone.

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As the sky grew dark around 7:30 pm, we glanced out the back door to see if there were any hints of aurora color. And the sky was magenta! The aurora had begun…

But the view from our cabin was only the beginning. Surrounded by trees, our view of the night sky is lovely, but to see the full aurora display, we needed to take a quick drive up the hill, where the wild blueberry barrens open up a 360-degree view of the horizons.

And from this vantage point, the palest band of wavy light began to form in front of us. It would have looked like just a strange curl of cloud, except that we were on high-alert…Is that it? Do you think that’s it? Point the camera, see what emerges…

The greatest light show on earth. Brought to us by patience. By nature. By science. By technology. By a simple desire to go out and be amazed. Three phones pointed skyward, watching colors build into brilliance, watching ribbons spark into ghostly flame, watching awe written across the heavens.

these photos are a mix of mine and my daughter’s, passing my phone back and forth in a jumble of rushing excitement, now impossible to distinguish 🤣

For those of us who become aurora nerds, even temporarily 🤣, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center is just a fascinating resource.

The Current Activity map displays the moving band of visible aurora spectrum, so you can see whether your location falls within the visible path.

The Forecast tool shows the predicted strength of upcoming aurora events.

It can be tricky to line up an aurora viewing, since the predicted strength has to align with a time when you’re in the visible path at night - and the skies are clear!

We learned that we could see faint hints of aurora in our area at a KP Index of 6, with just a tinge of green and red emerging along the northern horizon.

For frame of reference, the spectacular showing on October 10th was a 9 - although it was definitely a 10/10 in my book!

Wherever you are, whatever your view, I hope the inherent awe of aurora sparks a little magic in your heart, too!💕