Minnesota, -20 °C. After hearing that even Lviv got a glimpse of the aurora, skipping it here felt almost criminal. -20? Fine. That Duluth Trading Company parka I bought three years ago, after a long internal fight with my wallet, finally got its moment. The last two Minnesota winters were such a joke that it had been hanging in the closet untouched, waiting for a real reason to exist.

I was late to the party. Peak activity was around 6 pm, and I only made it out around midnight. A little flicker, and then nothing. But unexpectedly, I learned something useful: winter aurora watching can actually be very comfortable if you drive out onto a frozen lake. No trees, no buildings, just space and sky.
And yes, a small background panic about whether the ice will hold 🤪

📷 Canon R6, Lightroom

#Minnesota #ExploreMinnesota #MNastodon #OnlyInMN #MNWinter #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #ChasingAurora #NightSky #NightPhotography #Astrophotography #SkyLovers #Starscape #WinterVibes #ColdWeather #FrozenLake #Winter #Midwest #MidwestNature #NaturePhotography #LandscapePhotography #RealWinter #WorthIt #QuietMoments

I usually share only high resolution images here. But for astrophotographyI still need another lens and this time all I had was my phone.

We already knew a solar storm was heading our way. Ever since I missed the massive storm back in May 2024, I’ve been trying every single time. Sooo I went out only to realize that the fog was just as thick as it had been hours earlier. After a full day of sunshine it honestly felt like the weather was mocking me. Standing alone on a field, waiting for what felt like forever… nothing. No glow. No hint. Just fog. So I packed my things and started walking back.

And THEN my first beam appeared. The dancing green lights you always see in photos and documentaries. I stopped immediately and thought: Wait… that green cloud wasn‘t there a second ago?!
Pulled out my phone and it was gone.
Then it came back. Again and again. At the peak there were two beams at once.

Watching them appear and fade in real time is a feeling you can’t put into words. I was sitting there with tears in my eyes. I truly never believed I would see green, dancing auroras with my own eyes in southern Germany. Until now, I was already grateful just for the faint red glow that I saw two times already.

This was something else.
Absolutely unreal. The quality isn’t what I usually share but I had to share this moment. Some things are too powerful to keep to yourself.🙂


#aurora #auroraborealis #northernlights #solarstorm #spaceweather #astrophotography #nightphotography #phonephotography #stargazing #skywatcher #cosmicmoments #onceinalifetime #natureiswild #emotionalmoment #chasingaurora #southerngermany #nightscape #spaceconnection #meaningoverquality