STU students witness a rare Northern Lights display in N.B.

Green and red aurora bands break through the clouds, illuminating a quiet Fredericton neighbourhood. (Credit: Sabrina Zabatiero)

This month, a rare appearance of the Northern Lights brought students across Fredericton outside as faint streaks of green and red pushed through heavy cloud cover. 

The display, brief and partly obscured, was enough to send groups of students toward parking lots, riverbanks and open spaces in hopes of catching a glimpse.

For Huzaifa Hameed, a master’s student at the University of New Brunswick, it was the first northern lights he had ever seen. 

“I [had] spent like 35 to 40 minutes in the Head Hall parking … it was my first time seeing the Aurora lights.”

He and his friends rushed to the parking lot after tracking the rising KP index on an Aurora forecast app.

The sky looked empty at first, but his phone camera picked up what his eyes could not.

“I couldn’t see anything because of the cloud coverage,” he said. “Initially, it was green light and then a blend of red light as well.”

Hameed said the Aurora forecast app showed the KP index climbing toward its maximum around 11 p.m. He also monitored the "New Brunswick Aurora Watch" Facebook group, where locals posted early sightings. 

When the clouds briefly broke, he captured enough light to confirm he wasn’t imagining it.

Later, he returned the following night and walked two kilometres to the riverside, but the clouds never lifted.

Faint stars and drifting clouds frame the first subtle hints of the aurora above Fredericton’s night sky. (Credit: Sabrina Zabatiero)

Stephanie Bell, a great books and philosophy student at STU, also stepped outside after hearing it from a classmate.

“A friend in my Great Books class mentioned it. She follows an Aurora alert … the KP index was high that night,” she said.

Even though this was not Bell’s first Aurora, the anticipation still excited her.

“Honestly, it’s always beautiful, the colours in the sky. Last year we could see from here, from the windows … it was amazing.”

Bell said what fascinates her most isn’t the science behind the northern lights but the stories of different cultures attached to them.

“I’m more interested in how humans have interpreted it over time. In ancient texts, people saw it as a divine sign or a message from the gods,” she said.

She also attempted to see the lights the following night, but like many others, cloud coverage made viewing impossible.

“I would stay out to see them again,” said Bell.

Experts recommend avoiding light pollution, choosing open areas with wide skies, and watching between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., when activity is strongest. Forecasting tools like Aurora Alerts and KP-index monitors offer guidance, but no guarantee.

For many in Fredericton, the aurora offered a rare moment of shared awe.