Rainbow Aurora over Mackinac Bridge

One of the things I love most about where we live is the natural wonders; surrounded by the Great Lakes, stellar sunsets, dark skies, endless trails, waterfalls - I could go on for days all of the amazing things I love about northern Michigan and the UP… but one thing people absolutely chase when they’re here, especially having the Headlands International Dark Sky Park right down the road is the northern lights. Over the past few years, I’ve found overwhelming amounts of people wandering the dark in search of these beauts, but the morning of December 1st, 2023, there were no aurora chasers, in a place normally packed with people, nobody was looking to the skies for what was an absolutely stellar, albeit brief display of the northern lights over the Straits of Mackinac.

On a far too early of a Friday morning, my oldest had to be at the school early to head to NMU for quizbowl, as we got in the car, I could see a feint whisp in the sky, so I decided to bring my camera along, juuusssttt incase. And incase happened.

Funfact: the human eye CANNOT detect orange in the aurora. I’ve actually only seen orange show up in a few pictures I’ve taken over the years. But more exciting for me, was the experience. I’ve seen the aurora several times throughout my life, photographed her throughout the last 12 years, I rarely go down to the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse anymore, simply because it is normally crammed full of people. But this morning, was silent, peaceful and not a soul in sight.

Oh how I’ve dreamed of moments like this…

Rainbow aurora appears over Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and Mackinac Bridge in the early morning of December 1, 2023.

I’ve stood in this very spot multiple times, TWENTY THREE times over the pats 6 years to be exact (I checked) trying to get the “perfect” shot of the lighthouse and bridge in the same frame. And if something told me persistence pays off, this would be the proof of such.

To learn more about chasing the northern lights, I have a few articles in the journal that may be helpful as well as highly recommend joining the groups Michigan Aurora Chasers and Great Lakes Aurora Hunters on facebook and @miaurorachasers on Instagram for learning, alerts, forecasts and other information!