Last year, I had the privilege of witnessing the spectacular Northern Lights display over the Great Lakes in 2024. It was my first personal experience with the visual feast of the aurora borealis. The overwhelming feeling I had was one of awe, excitement, and a sense of witnessing a miraculous gift from above.
The glow seemed to rise directly from the horizon, reminding me of a painting depicting a moment of divine miracle from an epic. It brought to mind the heroic Kalevipoeg sailing on a silver ship towards the edge of the world, where he and his companions encountered the premonition of celestial signs:
“Then a spectacle appeared before their eyes:
From the point where sea meets sky,
Rising flames of light,
Green and deep red, golden and white,
Arching, dancing, spinning, shimmering…
Kalevipoeg exclaimed: ‘Behold, the feast of the gods!
Or the clash of celestial armies!'”
(Adapted from “Kalevipoeg,” Chapter 20, Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, 1861)
It was a beautiful description, but I’ve always felt that the version from my childhood was equally vivid: the aurora borealis appearing as sunlight reflected from Arctic icebergs. Even now, with a wealth of experience, I still find that explanation plausible.
You might be surprised by the abundance of aurora apps available. Like over 5 million others, I chose to download “My Aurora Forecast & Alerts.” As I headed north – about an hour’s drive from the shores of Lake Ontario – the app’s alert went off. It was a moonless night, and I continued driving to a place familiar since childhood – so familiar that I could navigate with my eyes closed.
Approaching the lakeshore, I saw many flashes of red taillights. Clearly, I wasn’t the only astronomy enthusiast drawn to this viewing spot. It was here that I first encountered them – the “Aurora Hunters” and the “Chasers of Light.”
Some pointed their phones towards the sky, exclaiming in wonder; others busied themselves with tripods and lenses; some sat quietly, gazing at the aurora in awe; and there were those who embraced each other while witnessing this spectacle.
Upon conversation, I learned that people kept up with the latest updates through local “Aurora Hunter” groups on Facebook. This is the 21st-century version of flash mobs, perhaps even more efficient than app notifications. Hunters dashed into their backyards, and chasers drove to viewing spots under the night sky to converge. Soon, updates and photos would flood in.
You’ll find enthusiasts from around the world coming together, from Connecticut to Iceland, from Wisconsin to Ireland.
When viewing the auroras in person, the first thing you learn is that what the naked eye sees differs from what you see through a phone or camera lens. While I saw dancing white curtains of light when I looked up at the night sky, people’s phones displayed a sky full of pink and neon green.
In fact, our eyes don’t have enough “exposure time” to capture the true sights, whereas a good camera reveals these colors. Thus, the image recordings are not a misinterpretation of what is seen but a more accurate rendition.
Viewing the spectacle from above the atmosphere is even more magnificent.
Astronauts on the International Space Station observe auroras above the Earth’s atmosphere, seeing stable, bright, and full-colored lights. NASA astronaut Don Pettit described it as, “We’re not flying over the aurora; we’re flying within it.”
In a social media post in October 2024, he wrote, “@Space_Station appears to be miniaturized and embedded in a neon sign.” Pettit also captured another rare red aurora in an astonishing YouTube video.
You might wonder why it’s easier to see vibrant auroras in Fairbanks, Alaska, than in New York. It all relates to the Earth’s magnetic field structure.
Fairbanks is near the auroral oval – a region surrounding the Earth’s magnetic North Pole that continuously shifts. Here, auroras appear frequently and strongly. A corresponding auroral oval exists in the south where the Aurora Australis appears (yes, they’re active too; ask the hunters and chasers in Australia and New Zealand). In both regions, charged particles from the sun are guided by Earth’s magnetic field into the atmosphere, displaying magnificent light and shadow scenes.
The farther you are from the auroral oval, the lower the frequency and brightness of the auroras you can see. However, during intense solar storm periods, almost everyone has the chance to see colored lights streaking across the sky.
During the 2024 aurora observation, I initially saw shimmering white light bands flickering in the sky. Eventually, with my naked eye, I could also see neon green, pink, and other colors. Even though these colors appeared somewhat subdued, they were still mesmerizing.
I also witnessed light pillars – vertical columns of light seemingly shooting straight up from the horizon. But the most breathtaking were the flashes at the top. I told other enthusiasts, “Look up!” Initially reluctant to leave their devices, they soon all turned their gaze towards the zenith.
These flashes looked as if God were continuously flipping a flashlight behind frosted glass. It was an experience that couldn’t be captured by photography alone but needed to be personally experienced. No one attempted to take pictures anymore; they all gazed fixedly at the sky. Occasional whispers of “Wow!” and “What is that?” floated by the shore but were mostly drowned out by the lapping waves. For me, it was an unforgettable experience of a lifetime. So, why do we seem to be encountering these phenomena more frequently lately?
We are currently in a period of increased solar activity, meaning the sun keeps emitting coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Space.com notes, “The sun’s activity follows a numbering system that began with the first solar cycle in 1755. We are currently in Solar Cycle 25, which started in December 2019 during the Sun’s minimum.”
So far, Solar Cycle 25 has proven unusually active. Just a few days ago, the latest solar flare caused “radio blackouts in Africa and Europe, interfering with high-frequency radio communications on Earth’s dayside,” according to Space.com.
Meanwhile, auroras have been observed in various parts of the United States, even as far south as Florida. Experts indicate that this phenomenon is not expected to diminish in the short term.
Before last year, I had only seen the Northern Lights once – many years ago. My parents also witnessed them, and it was the only time they remembered seeing the auroras in their long lives.
Online discussions suggest that we are now seeing auroras more often due to our smartphones, the internet, and increased discussion about them. But as someone who frequently sifts through newspaper archives, I can assure you that Americans had recorded the minutiae of life long before the digital age.
Historically documented aurora events include the brilliant red skies after the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862 and the auroral storm of 1941.
In 1862, soldiers and civilians in Virginia recorded, “The aurora, marvelous in its beauty. Golden spears of fire pointing skyward.” Some saw it as a glorious omen, while others thought of it as an ominous sign. Writer Elizabeth Lyle Saxton recorded an old woman’s words: “Oh, child, it’s a fearful omen. Such light only kindles when kings and heroes fall.”
In 1941, “one of the most intense geomagnetic storms of the early 20th century hit both sides of the Atlantic.” First Coast News reported that the storm wasn’t confined to the U.S.: “Across the Atlantic, the same solar disturbance disrupted radio and telegraph communications in parts of Europe – despite the ongoing continental conflict.” Within two months, the U.S. would join the war. Surviving photos document the historic aurora displays from Iowa to New Jersey.
We need to ask ourselves this question: Is the magnificent night sky we see just a periodic natural phenomenon or a celestial premonition in the grand epic poem of the unwritten future?
来源：Translation & Rewrite Assistant