Brown Bear Photographed Under Ursa Major and the Aurora Borealis
This stunning photo was captured through a long 2-second exposure, with a flash at the beginning. Photographer Peter Mather spent about five years attempting to capture this shot at this exact spot, coming close many times, but succeeding only now.
During the Arctic night, a remote camera captured a brown bear holding a salmon, with the constellation Ursa Major shining overhead and the ethereal glow of the aurora borealis illuminating the sky.


Ursa Major, also called the Great Bear, is one of the most recognizable constellations in the northern sky. The aurora borealis is caused by charged solar particles colliding with Earth’s atmosphere, painting the scene in vibrant green hues.
This rare combination of wildlife and celestial phenomena creates a truly once-in-a-lifetime moment. The salmon arrive late at this river in the Yukon, and the bears delay their hibernation for one last feast.
Fishing at night gives the bears an advantage, as they can smell the salmon through the water, while the fish struggle to detect them in the dark.