A Maine boat captain captured these photos of the Northern Lights

“It was mind blowing.”

The Northern Lights earlier this week in Cranberry Isles, Maine. Amanda Bracy

When Amanda Bracy learned that the Northern Lights would illuminate the Maine sky earlier this week, she was determined to capture the rare sight.

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So the boat captain pulled an all-nighter in Cranberry Isles near Acadia National Park. As a result, her kaleidoscopic photos have impressed tens of thousands of people online.

Bracy, who is from Cranberry Isles, posted her photos on the Maine Aurora Borealis Watch Facebook page. The photos received more than 35,000 likes, 2,000 comments, and 5,500 shares.

The Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, are known as “the Holy Grail of skywatching,” according to Space.com. The phenomenon was visible in parts of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island from Sunday night into early Monday morning.

It was Bracy’s third time capturing the Northern Lights on camera, and she took the photos at the harbor this time for the benefit of the reflection.

“You could actually see it with your eyes, which I have never seen up here,” she said.

There was another aurora borealis in Maine in May, but Bracy said it wasn’t as vibrant and she didn’t see it for very long due to clouds.

“I’ve never seen it like that,” Bracy said about this week’s display. “It was mind blowing. It was me and just one other person down there and I was like, ‘Are you seeing this?’ You could definitely see all the colors — blues, greens, reds, oranges. It was pretty insane.”

Photography is a hobby for Bracy, who is particularly interested in night photography and takes pictures of the Milky Way.

“There’s something about the night sky,” she said. “It’s a challenge, so it makes it fun.”

Bracy said she used a Sony A6700 with a Sigma 16mm lens and also took some shots with her iPhone.

“But I was so excited I couldn’t hold my iPhone still enough,” she said. “It’s really hard to hold anything that still for 10 seconds. It doesn’t sound long but it is.”

For those who aspire to capture the northern lights with an iPhone, Bracy recommended using night mode and bringing a tripod.

And, of course, pick a prime viewing spot.

“From our town dock, we’re looking back at all of Acadia National Park,” Bracy said. “You could say we have one of the best views in the house.”

Ahead, check out some of Bracy’s photos of the Northern Lights.