Chasing Aurora Borealis: Experiencing Ethereal Beauty of the Northern Lights

My entire life I’ve longed (who hasn’t?) to see the Aurora Borealis. I even named a character in a novel “Aurora” initially, until other fictional needs required the imagery to change to something else. Growing up on Cape Cod I always thought of them as a treat reserved only for those who lived in the north, but despite many trips to place northerly, I still was never lucky enough to see them. Not even once.

I did see them, ironically, twice before here on Cape Cod. The first was so bare that it was hard to decide if I’d even seen them at all. And the second (a year or so ago), was clear, but nothing worth taking the camera out for. Just a few spotlight-ish streaks in the sky, whitish, not even the eerie, ethereal green.

Then last night the sky was so weirdly pink that it became evident even while driving the light-polluted thoroughfare of Hyannis. First a blush of pink that I thought was a Halloween yard decoration reflecting against a cloud. But it got pinker, and pinker, and broader, until it was undeniable.

I veered off my route and made a beeline for the shores of Wequaquet Lake, a place I hadn’t been since I was a teenager, where I knew there was a wide expanse of generally darkish sky. That’s where the first pic was taken. Jaw-dropping and mesmerizing and magical. I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was.

Then, after going home, I kept checking the sky every ten minutes and about two hours later I thought I’d head to Sandy Neck Beach and watch for a while. Another 30 minutes later the show started again, with green this time, and my only regret is that of the hundred photos I took, only a few came out unblurred by the crazy-strong gusts of wind. It kept toppling the tripod, kept jostling the car, there was nothing to brace myself on to keep the wind from moving the camera. But a few pics came out “worthy” of what I was seeing: The Aurora Borealis hanging over Cape Cod Bay. I don’t know it would be any better in Iceland or Canada. It was absolutely everything my childhood dreams imagined.

What a treat to have been there at just the right time.