Friday Photo #712 – First Aurora

Photo: First visible northern lights under full moon in late August twilight sky, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. August 28, 2026. 00:01

I was hesitantly optimistic as the sky remained clear into the fading twilight of late August. The sun’s activity was low and a full moon was adding more illumination to the already not-that-dark August night. But shortly before midnight a faint green began to appear over the northern horizon. My first aurora of the 2026-2027 northern lights season.

Had this been April, I probably would not have even bothered going out. But the first aurora of Lofoten’s 8 month long aurora season is always something I like to photograph, mostly as a record of time and place.

I had already walked home from the beach when I looked out again to an overhead corona slowly moving across the sky, a hint of magenta on the upper edges. With no decent composition available, and iPhone photo would suffice for this brief moment. There will be plenty more nights for the real camera over the coming months…

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 20mm f/1.8
20mm
ISO 1000
f2
2 Seconds
WB Daylight