Once-in-a-Lifetime Aurora

The Peak - 10:14 pm

  We live in southwest Ohio so our chances of viewing the aurora borealis are few and far between. And even when we do get a glimpse, it's not very impressive.

 I've always been envious of my grandmother's description of the northern lights in Bear Lake, Michigan where they were vacationing (probably in October to see the trees turn). She described a three-dimensional display that she said reminded her of waving curtains.

 Last night was incredible and it was here. I've never seen anything quite like it and don't expect to ever again.

 During the day I began reading reports that either a G4 or G5 magnetic storm on the sun had sent a stream of charged particles in our direction. I've seen the notifications plenty of times in the past and been uniformly disappointed in the results.

 Live Storm Chasers posted this for tonight. Maybe we'll have a repeat?:

 It looked encouraging so I kept my eye on Facebook last evening  to see if any reports were coming in. When I friend posted a picture from Indiana, I knew it was time to go outside and look. I grabbed my cell phone, pulled on a coat (it was 35° and breezy) and headed across the back porch to the garage apron. As I rounded the corner to our back yard this was my first view:

9:31 pm

 It was more than a little startling to see a bright red patch suspended in mid-air. It looked like the sky was on fire.
 I turned and headed in so that Tom could come out and see it, too.

9:35 pm

 All these shots were taken facing NNW.

9:35 pm

9:36 pm

 The intensity of the glow ebbed and flowed. This is a slight zoom into the red aurora.

9:49 pm

 This is a wider view. I understand the red is caused by oxygen particles at high altitudes (150-250 miles) and the green by those at lower altitudes (60-150 miles). The particles were no less excited than I.

Credit: NOAA

 We were lucky that the sky cleared in time to see this. The day was a typically cloudy, wintry day. But last evening the stars were bright points of light and a front had washed the atmosphere clear for this grand spectacle.