Well who would have known! In the bolog post I wrote some time back ahout how to maximise your chance to see Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights), then seeing one in May, in West Yorkshire, would not have been one at ALL. But we did!
10 pm: seeing the news (bonus lesson on how Auroras happen!)
The night started with Ben (my husband) and I seeing news that the Northern Lights were likely to be seen due to a severe solar storm. If you’ve seen my blog post, you’ll know that Auroras happen when charged particles from the sun, called solar wind, interact with the Earth’s magnetic field. These particles are mainly electrons and protons, which are released during solar storms or flares. As the solar wind approaches Earth, it gets drawn towards the polar regions by the planet’s magnetic field.
When these charged particles collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, such as oxygen and nitrogen, they emit light. The different colors of the auroras depend on the type of gas and the altitude at which the collision occurs. Oxygen typically produces green and red auroras, while nitrogen contributes to blue and purple hues. This collision and emission of light create the gorgeous auroral displays.
10.30 pm: waiting for Auroras from the backyard
So we sat out in our garden chair, and looking up. But the darkness nowadays comes quite late in England. As it’s further north, during the summer, the sunrise gets earlier and the sunset gets later. It’s just … a thing that happens. And we knew that we need darkness to see the Northern Lights.
Thankfully, we live not quite far from the edge of Peak District, and Ben thought it’d be a good place to see the Northern Lights. I agreed, though I was getting tired. Also, I wasn’t sure how likely it was for us to see the Auroras with all these light pollution around us. Ben again pointed out that there will be less light pollution in the Peaks, so we decided to have a quick drive to have a peek. If it doesn’t happen then we go back home. Nothing to lose, right?
11 pm: Finding a Good Spot for Aurora
Off we go in the car. Ben literally thought we were going to be the only one ahaha but was mistaken! Cars were lined up on the roadside and the car park, despite not being full, was definitely busier than a normal night. We missed the entrance to the car park too LOL. So we just park up on the road side, a bit further ahead from the carpark we originally intended.
Aurora Show Time!
Boy, I am so happy I went with Ben. I think my sleepiness disappeared the moment I saw some flicks of Auroras.
I just pointed my smartphone camera to the sky and started taking picture haha. The colours of the auroras are much more visible on camera. I was so happy to see some red auroras, as the ones we saw in Norway was just green. But then it suddenly picked up!
I mean, I can’t really explain how happy I was in that moment. The light was FILLED with these streaks and it was so intense we could see the colours with just naked eyes. By the way, I took all these pictures just with my good ol’ Samsung S22!
Bonus: Step by Step Tutorial on Capturing Auroras with Smartphones
Yep, I took all these pictures with my smartphone! And no I am not a professional photographer or anything like that. The exact setting for different phone will differ slightly but the principle is the same. You want night mode, which is long exposure mode on your phone.
How does Long Exposure mode work?
(Fill free to skip to the bottom for the steps if you’re in a rush!)
Night mode or long exposure mode on your phone works by allowing the camera to capture more light over a longer period of time. In low-light conditions, such as at night or in dimly lit environments, the camera’s sensor doesn’t receive as much light, resulting in darker or grainier photos.
Night mode or long exposure mode compensates for this by keeping the camera’s shutter open for a longer duration, typically ranging from a few seconds to several seconds. During this extended exposure time, the camera sensor gathers more light, allowing for brighter and clearer images.
To avoid blurry photos caused by camera shake during long exposures, many smartphones use optical image stabilization (OIS) or electronic image stabilization (EIS) to minimize movement. Some phones also employ advanced computational photography techniques to reduce noise and enhance details in the final image.
Overall, night mode or long exposure mode on your phone helps you capture better-quality photos in low-light situations by maximizing the amount of light captured by the camera sensor.
Steps
First, once you open your camera, find the night mode. It’s probably where you change your camera mode to change to capture videos, panoramas, slow-mo etc.
The most spectacular pictures I took was by increasing the exposure time. It makes so much more sense the reasons why we want to do this if you read and understand how long exposure photography work, which I did write in the outline above.
Then you want to click max.
You’re ready to take some picture! Click the shutter as usual, and KEEP THE CAMERA STILL. On my phone they have this circle pointer and what you need to do is to keep the circle inside the line. Keep it still until the phone is done.
KThen open the image and enjoy your gorgeous Auroras or northern light, without specialised camera equipment!
Thanks for visiting! If the beauty of Auroras captivated you and you want to see them from polar region, don’t forget to first read my experience in seeing Auroras in Tromso, Norway. And while you’re there, learn about Sami culture and meet the reindeers!
Did you see it too last night?