As you may have read, an intense solar storm has caused the aurora borealis (aka “northern lights”) to be glimpsed as far south as London, England. Apparently the aurora put on quite a show at Stonehenge, too. The image that came to mind was a bunch of neo-Druids pointing and yelling: “It’s the elder gods sending a message! Does anyone speak Aurora???”
The photo in the illustration was taken by my niece, Alison Willis, and is under copyright so don’t use it to make a T-shirt or something. The colors would likely have been brighter outside of town, due to Anchorage’s light pollution, but it was past 10 p.m. and she didn’t feel like driving an hour or two out and back on a school night.
Instead, she took these photos at Earthquake Park here in town. Throngs of other shooters were there, and the roads to Pt. Woronzof and Flattop (also here in town) were apparently parked on both sides for up to half a mile out.
A little embarrassed to say that she invited me to join her on this photographic journey, but I declined because it was a chilly night (3 degrees) and I was tired. Now I know I’m getting old.
Instead, I enjoyed the lights from our back steps. Due to lots of nearby illumination, they looked more like this:
We did get some hints of red and purple here and there. While I love having streetlights and such for safe driving, they do interfere with Alaska’s natural splendor.
Here are a couple more of Alison’s photos for good measure:
Not bad for an iPhone camera in an overly lighted town, huh?
More northern lights are predicted for this evening. So no matter where you live, watch the skies.
Beautiful
Stunning. Beautiful picture. Once saw it in Massachusetts. We all went out in the middle of the night on the hospital roof to watch it. Not colorful like that one! So amazing.
Watch for them tonight.
Very cool! I’m a bit jealous, as I hope to see that sight one day.
Absolutely gorgeous! When my girls were little, we would set the alarm to get up and watch meteor showers. 2 years ago, my younger daughter and I got up and drove 1 1/2 hours to watch the solar eclipse. I hope to see the northern lights one day myself . Thanks for sharing these
Breathtaking! Since I’m too far away to see it in person, this is the next best thing. Thank you so much for sharing.
Beautiful! Thanks so much to you and your niece for sharing. One day I hope to see them for myself.
Beautiful photos! Thank you both for sharing them with us!
Like Diane, I saw them once here in Massachusetts but they were a much muted and less colorful version of what these photographs show. I was just so thrilled to see them and cross that off my bucket list.
Amazing! Thanks to both of you for sharing! Doubt I’ll ever see in Georgia!
Gorgeous. And your Stonehenge crack made me laugh.
Thanks for sharing the colors!
That is so cool!
Wow! Just wow!