28 Nebraskaland • December 2025
direction. As the beam continued to
rise vertically, I realized it wasn't the
glow of human-made lights. I was
witnessing the Northern Lights for the
very first time in my life.
The single beam turned into several
vertical lines that moved in unison
from horizon to horizon. While the
lights appeared white and pale green
to me, my digital camera was able to
pick up much deeper colors with a long
exposure. I continued to photograph
the lights until the early hours of the
morning when things finally began to
quiet down.
After my first encounter, the most
memorable experience I've had
viewing the Northern Lights happened
during an unexpected encounter
on a friend's ranch near the town of
Hyannis. As I settled in for the night
in my truck's camper topper, I looked
up into the darkness and thought the
sky seemed far too bright for being
long past twilight. Allowing my eyes
to adjust for a few brief moments, I
realized the source of illuminance
was moving fluidly through the sky,
with picket-fence-like lines moving
above the horizon from west to east.
Being completely caught off guard
only added to the excitement, and
I could only imagine the awe that
civilizations throughout history might
have experienced when seeing the
unexplained and unexpected anomaly.
The lights reflect in a windmill stock tank near Valentine. The long camera exposure also captured the movement of the
windmill's blades. April 22, 2017.
