Exactly 10 years ago I made this pcture (left frame) of the Whirlpool galaxy M51 in the constelation Ursa Major, not realizing that the aurora was very active. I was disapointed by the bad quality of the exposures. The next day the newspapers reported that the polar light had been visible. So this was, by accident my first encounter with the polar light..
The right frame shows a "normal" exposure of M51 in absence of the polar light
The sun is this year still in an active phase, so be allert.