Northern Lights over Lancaster County

The Aurora Borealis makes a rare appearance above Lancaster County, Pa.

THE LOCATION: Townhouse complex in Pequea Township, Lancaster County, Pa.

THE EQUIPMENT: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV | EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM | Peak Design aluminum travel tripod

THE STORY: "All the other girls are stars, but you are the Northern Lights."

That lyric from the opening of the 2004 song "Kathleen" by Josh Ritter kept racing through my mind the night the Aurora Borealis made a rare showing in my home of Lancaster County, Pa.

Living here on Latitude 40 degrees doesn't usually provide us with an atmospheric light show thanks to geometric storms prompted by plasma from the sun.

But on this night, the 10th of October, here came rushing at twilight curtains of pink and green on our northern horizon.

At first, we all relied on iPhones. I stood in a condo complex with my sons and parents, straining our naked eyes to see any semblance of color in the sky, but we just couldn't spy anything.

But the iPhones, especially my 14 Max Pro, that did the job (sorta). Three-second exposures, handheld, and wallah! Color in the night sky!

An image of the Northern Lights in Millersville, Pa., taken with an iPhone 14 Max Pro

Zoom in to those iPhone pics, though, and you'll see that the detail is, ummmm, almost cartoonish. Adequate for most people who wanna post jpegs on their social media pages, but I needed to get home and have a jam session with my Canon 5D Mark IV.

After 10 p.m., the Aurora unveiled its fully glory. By then, I'd put my kids to bed and snuck outside my townhouse to a dark spot, and sure enough, like melted red candy the Northern Lights poured across the starry skies.

And the DSLR is still the superior camera when it comes to capturing detail.

The triangular roof of a nearby townhouse, plus a solitary lighted window made for the perfect framing.

The lighted window provided the focusing guide, and then, with a 30-second exposure, the magnificence of the Aurora and the universe of stars beyond danced for us who sat in the dark filling our eyes and hearts with the rare light of this natural phenomenon.

A horizontal look at the townhouse with the Northern Lights pulling a curtain across the night sky of Lancaster County, Pa.

Dave Pidgeon is a seasoned writer and photographer. He lives in Lancaster, Pa., with his three sons. You can email him at dave@pidgeonseyeview.com.