Described as “Hell with the lid off,” soot from Pittsburgh’s steel mills choked out the midday sun. Yet heaven’s light dazzled the city in 1957, as if by miracle. Solar explosions and magnetic storms beckoned the Aurora Borealis to paint the city’s sky with her spectacular jewel-toned streams of light. Was it wanderlust that lured her here those many years ago, away from the northern skies she called home? In April 2013, astronomers thought she’d dance once again atop the Steel City. I searched the night sky, praying for my own small miracle, a glimpse into heaven.