Photo is gorgeous. The photographer who took this picture had to be in awe at the nature's spectacle.

Is this your pic O P ? Can you share what your gear is and exposure?

Nikon D850, 24-50 sigma, and about 1 sec exposure.

Dumb question, but does it really look like this with the naked eye? I've never seen one or asked that question.

Depends. It can be as faint as a grey smudge or very very bright. Before this solar storm, I used to think the faded green was as good as it gets. Then I had a week of lights so bright and so fast moving you could easily film them with a phone. For the most part, they are quite faint. In the picture they weren’t too bright, but this is also relatively far south for aurora.

Thanx