IMAGE OF THE MONTH

FEBRUARY 2026

The Night the Aurora Found Me

The Easter Ross Peninsula is blessed with dark skies, the kind that make you hold your breath in amazement at the vastness of stars scattered across the night. On this night, I was waiting for something extraordinary. I had my aurora alert app primed, my camera gear packed, and warm layers ready by the door. When the red alert finally lit up my phone, I didn’t hesitate. I knew I wanted to head straight for Tarbetness, hoping the sky would deliver something special.

It did more than that.

For a few unforgettable hours, the aurora danced with an intensity I hadn’t witnessed since Lofoten seven years ago. Curtains of green light unfolded across the horizon, shifting and pulsing as if the sky itself was alive. Standing alone on the coastline, the lighthouse beam cutting through the darkness, I felt that rare alignment of preparation and luck, being in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.

The night stretched on, and although I stayed as long as I could, almost midnight forced me to call it. I left reluctantly, knowing I was walking away from magic. But this panorama image holds the moment for me: the aurora sweeping overhead, the lighthouse standing firm against the night, and the quiet reminder that sometimes the world gifts you something you’ll never forget.