A magical summer night surprise
On the night of August 12th, the maximum of the Perseid meteor shower, I spontaneously went outside to catch some shooting stars. Little did I know, the night would hold an even more magical surprise.
It was a clear night, and the Perseid meteors didn’t disappoint—bright, swift, and frequent. Equipped only with my smartphone, a Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro, I tried to take long-exposure shots in hope to catch some shooting stars as they lit up the sky.
While I caught satellite after satellite (nowadays it’s kinda hard to NOT catch one), I couldn’t capture a shooting star. Still I loved one of the images showing the bright milky way with its filigree dust clouds.
I was so focused on the meteors that I hadn’t expected to see anything else unusual. But just after midnight, I got a notification from my astronomy group hinting that there might be northern lights visible.
Excited, I turned my attention northward, scanning the horizon for any signs. At first glance, the sky seemed its usual self, with nothing but faint, vertical lines that seemed a tad bit brighter than the sky. Yet something about them caught my curiosity.
I took a few shots and, sure enough, my camera revealed what my eyes couldn’t quite see on their own—those faint streaks were indeed northern lights! Quickly I changed my place for a better view towards the north. Now my eyes could make out a sublte red and even a touch of green glowing across the horizon, adding a surreal beauty to the already magical night. The auroras remained faint, yet unmistakable in the photos. I watched as they danced quietly in the distance for around 40 minutes before fading away.
