Chasing the Northern Lights in Cape Breton

It was a chilly fall night about 25 years ago.  Myself and some friends were driving on the dark, lonely highway towards Main-a-dieu on Cape Breton Island when something in the sky caught my eye.  Without thinking, I hit the brake and stared wide-eyed in fear at the strange dancing lights in the night sky ahead of me.  Silence fell over us until a voice from the back seat yelled "let's get the hell out of here".  He didn't have to tell me twice.  I turned around and with tires squealing, I sped in the opposite direction. We were convinced it was some kind of alien invasion or otherworldly catastrophic event.

Having never seen anything like that before, it was only natural that fear would be the initial reaction.  Now I know what I saw that night and when an opportunity arises to experience that again, I race towards it, not away from it.  

I now know what I saw that night all those years ago; I witnessed the incredible Northern Lights, otherwise known as the Aurora Borealis. 

Being a rare occurrence this far south, my sightings of the Northern Lights were limited to Instagram photos and tourism brochures for far-flung destinations.  I always wanted to go to Iceland or Northern Canada to see the lights and often looked up information about these destinations.  Those brochures always came with plenty of awe-inspiring images. Until recently, I never witnessed them again in the night skies above Cape Breton Island. 

It was just over a year ago that I discovered a Facebook page and associated app that was tracking sightings of the Northern Lights over Nova Scotia. Of course, I started to follow the alerts closely.  Every now and then, excited group members would post that the levels were alleviated and conditions were ideal for sightings.  Almost every time I saw these alerts, I'd get my camera gear ready and head out to a dark place to watch...and watch. Usually, it was too cloudy or there was just nothing there to see.  Sometimes I'd see members posting pictures of their sightings and realize that they'd been out earlier or later than me.  

Finally, I got my chance on May 10th.  The alerts came as usual but they came with the added alerts from local, national and even international news that the Northern Lights would be visible in many places that are normally too south to see them.  A solar storm was brewing and it was set to ignite the skies with a spectacular show that would be seen in many places all over the world.  Cape Breton was highlighted on the map as one of those places that had a high chance of witnessing this show. 

I got my camera gear ready, dressed warm and headed to a dark spot to wait and watch.  My first stop was Dominion Beach.  For a while, I saw nothing.  I wasn't sure if it was my eyes playing tricks on me but the sky started to turn a funny color.  I snapped a picture and posted it to the group; they were convinced it was the Northern Lights.  It wasn't quite dark enough to know for sure if that was what I was seeing.  I left and drove to Victoria Mines and set up in my Dad's backyard. I focused on the sky to the North. And there it was. The distinct green, purple and pink streaks flowing through the night sky.  I stood there in awe taking in the beautiful spectacle in front of me.  

My excitement was overwhelming which many people would find strange.  "It's just some lights" some would say.  But for a person like myself who thrives on new experiences and has deep a connection to the natural world, this was something that could not be taken for granted.  I get overly-excited over the littlest things.  Well, they're big things to me even if they are mundane to everyone else.  That's just who I am. 

A text alert on my phone snapped me out of sky -viewing mode.  A friend had seen the alert I posted earlier that day on Facebook reminding everyone to look north and she was wondering if I had seen the lights.  I sent her some of my pictures and she excitedly decided to head out to see them too.  I know I have a true match in a friendship when someone gets this excited about these little things that excite me.  It was 11:30 PM, close to my usual bedtime.  But in case you don't know me by now, my motto in life is "plenty of time to sleep when I'm dead....the time to live is now".  I never turn down an opportunity. I jumped in the car and met my friend in River Ryan where we got the Grand Finale of the Northern Lights show.  The green and purple lights danced over Lingan Bay for several minutes before stopping altogether.  Another example of how life often takes unexpected turns; for a day that started in the most mundane of ways, it ended as an unforgettable night.

The Great Solar Eclipse of 2024

I first heard that there would be a solar eclipse a few months ago.  At first, I didn't think it was a big deal since most times, these celestial events can't be viewed from my region of the world anyway so I just tossed it aside as something I would miss or, at the very least, see on TV. 

When I heard Cape Breton would be in the path of totality, that really caught my attention! I started researching the event and soon, I was all onboard. I bought a few pairs of those funny-looking eclipse glasses and some camera phone filters, dug out some filters and tripods for my Canon and put in a request at work for a vacation day.

Well, the day has arrived.  With my vacation day approved only days ago, my equipment ready by the door the night before and a promising forecast of clear skies and decent temperatures, I headed off into the afternoon sunlight to wait the darkness.

I choose Dominion Beach as my final destination.  While my area of Cape Breton wasn't directly in the path of totality, it was close.  Many people headed to Meat Cove at the Northern Tip of the island which was in the direct path.  If it was summer and there wasn't a concern about adverse weather, heavy traffic and crowds, I would have gone there too but Northern Cape Breton is not always a nice place to be this time of year!

I parked my car near the gate of the Dominion Beach Provincial Park and walked about a kilometer to a flat, high area where I would get the perfect view of the entire event. I set up my cameras and got everything else ready and by the time I put my glasses on for the first time, a little sliver of the sun was already gone. 

All that effort to set up cameras and dig out filters and tripods for them wasn't all that worth it.  Not because the eclipse wasn't as expected because it was fabulous!  It was because I didn't have the right settings and it was too damn cold to start playing around with buttons and dials.  I tried for a bit and gave up.  As much as I wanted to capture some great shots, I also wanted to just sit and enjoy the show. 

The best picture I could get. It was just too cold to figure out the settings on my camera, so I just focused on actually enjoying the show instead. 

 

And enjoy I did.  I watched as it got darker and darker and the crows got all messed up and set off to roost in their favorite spot on the Sydney waterfront. I stayed right to the end despite not being able to feel my hands mid-way through. 

I gathered my things and made the long journey back to the car and as the sun grew bright again, a bittersweet thought came to mind; how lucky I was to have experienced it and how I may not experience another one in my lifetime.