December 2025 • Nebraskaland 29
The past few years have brought
increased activity and many exciting
opportunities for first-time viewers
across our state. This is most likely
twofold: The first, and most important,
factor is that we are heading into the
"solar maximum," or an 11-year cycle
of solar activity that the sun undergoes.
During the solar maximum, there are
more sunspots, solar flares and coronal
mass ejections, which all contribute
to more opportunities for bursts of
charged particles to make the journey
across our solar system. I believe
the second factor is wider access to
improved technologies to capture
these events.
Older cellphones did not have the
ability to capture long exposures at
night. Many phones can now be set
to take 10 or more second exposures,
which allow for capturing photos
in dimly-lit environments that had
previously been impossible without
the use of a digital camera.
This has led to a flood of stunning
photos being shared on Facebook and
other platforms after a night of aurora
activity, and a fine time for a new
photographer to introduce themselves
to the Northern Lights.
N
Erik Johnson is a Lincoln-based
photographer, often joined on adventures
by his yellow Lab, Khloe. See more of his
work at @erikjohnsonphoto.
An old home near Crawford under a vibrant curtain of light. The KP index on this night reached 9
and is considered to be the strongest solar storm on Earth in the last two decades. May 24, 2024.
