Still Chasing the Aurora

The Northern Lights? Unclear. But it is the view from my mailbox.

Last night there was a fairly significant solar storm, and supposedly the Northern Lights could be seen as far south as ... well, far south. 

Fairbanks, not Hector.

Fairbanks, not Hector.

I've been obsessed with the aurora borealis for a long as I can remember, and as part of my travels a year ago I flew up to Fairbanks and managed to catch a glimpse of the lights on successive nights. Absolutely amazing: they do, as many have described, "dance."

I'm on the north edge of Hector, which means there's almost no light pollution. So around 11 p.m. I realized I'd lost my tripod (somewhere in storage), so I balanced the camera on my malbox and set it for a 15 second exposure aimed into the darkness.

It's a pretty image, but whether or not that's really the Lights I can't say. With a 15-second exposure, light starts to do lots of funny things (light you can't even see). But regardless, it's a pretty shot and it was a beautiful evening. The green streaks in the bottom are actually fireflies. 

Posted on June 23, 2015 and filed under Photography.