Northern Lights!

When I was little, around Christmas time, in the cold of winter my family would pile into our '86 Lincoln Town Car. We would fight about who got stuck up front between mom and dad. While the front seat was crowded it was also the warmest spot in the car as it took the heater 15 or so minutes to get to those in the back seat. Once all in we would drive around town in search of the best Christmas lights. We found houses lit up using more energy in one night than some people used in a day.

Yesterday too, it was cold of winter and before bed I went out into the sub-zero temps once again in search of the most beautiful lights, but this time not ones man-made but rather made by the creator or man-The Aurora Borealis. I stepped outside to see many stars as there was not a cloud in sight, and a moon in full force that almost hurt to look at because of it's luminous effect. With no Northern Lights in sight I opted for some pictures of the moon over the mountain and went back inside.

9:00pm

Three hours passed and I once again checked for the dancing colors across the sky but all I could see was the moon. I decided to set up my camera on the tri-pod and have it near the door in case they would appear quickly (as they often do). I was disappointed since I had seen them twice earlier in the week, and once you see them it's like a hard fast addiction--I wanted more! They are just so great!

12:15am...no lights

A side not for you all...I subscribe to a text message notification alerting me when the Northern Lights are out and at strong levels (levels actually worth getting out of bed at O'Dark Thirty). So sure enough at 4:17am I receive a text alert that startles me awake. The report says the Aurora is at Kp7 (the Geomagnetic Activity level on a scale of 1-10). I had seen them when they were at Kp6 so I was extatic to see the number "7".

I threw back the coves dove into my boots, and headed out the door into a calm, still, -4*F (quite a shock from a nice warm bed). I glanced upward and saw curtains of green shooting and swirling across the sky. I started to take pictures, which is an uneventful process since you point the lens to the sky, press the button and wait 45 seconds.

Best shot of the night! Lights over the inlet literally out my doorstep

In the meantime I was eyes to the sky to absorb the most beautiful light show I've seen (and i've seen all the Orlando theme parks late night laser and light shows). As beautiful as it is, there is a certain creepy, mysterious, ominous feel to what I see.

Dancing above me

Peeking from behind the clouds

Stripe across the inlet