Early Arrival of the Aurora: Capturing the May 31 CME
A few days ago, a huge solar flare erupted from the sun, and the associated CME (coronal mass ejection) sped toward Earth. The space forecast called for major G3–G4 storms over the next few days, starting on June 1 around 5 a.m.— daytime for us.
On the evening of May 31, I had an inkling the CME might arrive earlier than expected. I packed up my car with my aurora viewing comfort gear, including a chair and a small fold-out mat. I went to bed at my usual 9 p.m., having set an alarm for 2 a.m., just in case.
As it turned out, the CME did arrive early—shortly after 10 p.m. Thankfully, I woke up around 11, and after checking the data, I decided to meet up with a few friends at Piper’s Lagoon. When I arrived at the gate, the white aurora oval was already shining brightly above the ocean—visible to the naked eye.
I quickly loaded my gear into my wagon, zipped up my down coat, and pulled my toque over my ears to keep the chilly wind at bay. It didn’t take long to get set up and capture my first few vibrant photos and videos of the night.
Watch the time-lapse video here
Bracing ourselves against the wind, we made our way to the far end of the lagoon to see if we could frame my favourite arbutus tree with the aurora dancing in the background—a shot I’ve been dreaming of getting since last year. But, as often happens with aurora chasing, the lights settled down just as we got into position. With the ferocious wind blowing, it was tough to keep our tripods steady.
We returned to a more sheltered spot to watch the sky and observe the colours through our phone screens. I’d committed to staying until dawn—my favourite time to catch the aurora. My friends headed out shortly after 2:30 a.m.
By 3:15, the first hint of light began to appear on the horizon, and the aurora was still dancing. All of a sudden, the sky exploded with activity. I didn’t know where to look, let alone where to point my camera. The lights moved horizontally across the sky and pulsed vertically—a phenomenon I’ve only seen a handful of times before. I had a 270° naked-eye view of the aurora and no one to share it with. I screamed with joy and shouted into the wind, capturing photos as best I could. The gusts nearly knocked my phone over—I had to use my blanket as a makeshift weight to keep it from toppling.
By 4 a.m., daylight had caught up to me. With the summer solstice just weeks away, our nights are getting shorter. In a way, I was relieved to head home—grateful for the incredible experience I’d just witnessed. I packed up my wagon and rolled it back to the car, arriving home just minutes before my usual sunrise alarm at 4:30 a.m.
Knowing the show might continue for another night, I did my best to get some rest—and prepare for another round of aurora chasing.
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