I saw the Northern Lights for the first time, thanks to the Pixel 9 Pro Fold

With everything else going on over the past few days, I didn’t even know there was a chance to see the Northern Lights. Earlier this year, there was an opportunity to this natural phenomenon, but I simply missed out. This time, I didn’t miss out, and I was extremely lucky. 

Last night, as dusk turned dark, I was scrolling through social media and saw a few posts explaining an ongoing solar storm. After the sun was down for the day, I went outside, hoping that I’d be able to see it, but I came up short. Then, I remembered that it was possible to “see” the Aurora Borealis with the help of a camera, even if it was not visible to the naked eye. 

So I grabbed my Pixel 9 Pro Fold, opened the camera, switched over to Night Sight, and pointed it at the sky. What I ended up with was a picture of the sky with what kinda looks like a paintbrush stroke of magenta. Needless to say, I got extremely excited, so I went to try and find a tripod to set up the Pro Fold. 

Astrophotography Mode takes about four minutes, and while it’s possible to just stand and hold the phone in your hand, the results might not be what you had hoped.