11oct24

I’d actually turned off Aurorawatch. There was a BBC newsflash, instead, As I was heading outside, herself told me that her friend had been told that this far south, sometimes you need to view the sky through your phone to see the Northern Lights. This is what I saw when I panned north, and ran back inside to get her.

At one point, it briefly became visible to the naked eye – a pulsing field of red to the north-east. Not the classical Northern Lights, no shimmering curtains. More like a rising bar of alien heat. Perhaps the STEVE formation? Either way, it was the first time I’d seen colour in the sky. I’d caught a weak emission of the Lights in Norway once, but it was white and ghostly.

For all the complaining about phones: I never would have seen this without one.

I slept in this morning. Bought herself a Philip Treacy hat for Xmas. Noted Ribbonfarm is closing, and I need to have a think on Venkat’s conclusions.