Catching the Northern Lights in Massachusetts: Boston and Hull Under the Aurora
I have now seen the northern lights three times this year, twice in Norway, and now the third time in New England.
But I have seen the lights twice right here in Massachusetts from my own backyard. I still cannot fully believe that sentence is true.
The first time I ever saw the aurora was last October, right here in New England, which still did not feel ordinary. I do not think it ever will.
The second and third times I saw the aurora were in Tromsø, Norway, which felt like the right place. The Arctic Circle, a mountain cable car, a sky full of green and pink and grey moving in ways that do not seem physically possible. I cried. That felt appropriate.
And for the fourth time in my life, I saw them last night.
When all the numbers were lining up, I learned to go. Do not wait, do not think about it too much, get somewhere dark and look up. That night, I started in Boston, which is not exactly a dark-sky location, but the aurora was so strong that the city lights did not stand a chance. The sky was glowing purple and green.
Then I headed to Hull, the little peninsula that juts out into Boston Harbor about thirty minutes from the city, and the view there was something else entirely. Away from the densest city lights, with water on multiple sides and a wide open sky, the aurora was doing everything. Colors shifting, curtains of light moving across the horizon, that particular quality of green that photographs one way and looks completely different in person.
Hull is worth keeping in your back pocket for aurora chasing in the Boston area. It is close and accessible, and the combination of water and open sky gives you more to work with than most spots this close to the city. When the forecast looks promising, that is where I head.
I have written about chasing the northern lights in the Arctic Circle and how that felt like the culmination of something I had always wanted. Seeing them in Massachusetts feels like a different kind of gift. Like the lights followed me home and decided New England was worth showing up for, too.
Watch the KP index. Get somewhere with an open sky. Look up.
They might find you here.
