Mother Nature Celebrates Fall Equinox With Northern Lights Show

September 22 marks the first day of fall. Soon, the temperatures will begin to lower, leaves will fall, and the smell of pumpkin spice will fill the air. To celebrate the long-awaited change of season, Mother Nature will treat us to a show in the sky. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the aurora borealis, commonly known as the northern lights, will be visible from September 21 to 23. The sky will be painted due to minor geomagnetic storms, the NOAA reports.

Videos by InspireMore

The northern lights may be visible in the United States in places such as Montana, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. But if the storms are powerful enough, people as far South as Illinois could catch a glimpse.

Iceland is renowned for its breathtaking northern lights displays. Travelers come from all over the world for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see Mother Nature in action. Because they may not ever return, people love to take lots of pictures. Here in the United States, folks also want to capture the moment but wonder the best way to do it with their smartphone.

Visit Iceland offers great tips for photographing the northern lights with a smartphone. First, get a tripod and lock the phone’s focus to infinity. You should also turn off your phone’s flash or enable night mode, if applicable. Visit Iceland also recommends downloading an app like, Northern Lights Photo Taker, NightCap Camera, ProCamera, and Slow Shutter for iOS. For Android, ProCam X Lite is great.

“Advancements in smartphone technology now allow us to capture the Northern Lights and other low-light scenes effectively. The settings are relatively easy, and the results can be stunning,” Visit Iceland explains. “Experiment and practice your setup before you get out in the field! The more you practice, the better (and faster) you’ll get. Before heading out, familiarize yourself with your device’s settings and practice; tweaking settings with cold fingers is less fun. Trust me on that!”

This story’s featured image can be found here.