Aurora Borealis over Illinois

I’m still in shock we saw the aurora borealis early on Saturday morning (May 11). Between off-the-charts forecasts for a massive geomagnetic storm, and incredible photos coming out of Europe, we didn’t want to miss a chance to see the Northern Lights. With no real plans place, Amy and I raced out to Rockford on Friday evening. We made a pit stop at her parents’ house to change and prep, then headed out to darker skies in Pecatonica, IL and hoped…We waited out thunderstorms and dense clouds, but were finally rewarded with an incredible show starting around 12:30am.

While the aurora borealis weren’t as vivd to the naked eye as to the cameras, the faint glimmers of the lights shimmering and flickering across the sky like a space-sized flashlight was otherworldly to witness. We chased them until about 3:30. Longer exposures, a high ISO, and a wide aperture were key to capturing these photos.

I never thought I’d check this off my bucket list, let alone so close to home. But now I want to go *way* north in the depths of winter for an even fuller experience.