The ghosts of the Northern Lights

[pameladean]

Tipped off by an early LJ post from elisem and a late post to the Minn-Stf Natter list by Mark Richards, I went out into the back yard, collecting Lydy from the downstairs kitchen in passing, to see what there was to see. In the southeastern sky, sweeping over Orion, we saw wisps of cloud that formed and dissipated and formed and dissipated. Oh, look, I said, that one is green. Those are not clouds. We wondered if we were imagining what we saw, but we were not. Beams of ghostly pale shimmer bloomed up from the ground and swept like a searchlight made of mist across the stars, and faded, and swept again. After a time I went inside and fetched David. He stayed long enough to determine that those were not clouds, and those were not his eyes playing tricks, and went in again. Lydy and I stayed a bit longer, making oo sounds and pointing out the faint, faint colors to one another. In the meantime, real clouds in their mackerel ranks were moving in from the north. Lydy went in. I went around to the front yard to see if things were still clear there, but they were not. As I came back around the side of the house, one more greeny-white beam drifted up over Orion, and vanished.

Pamela

Comments

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Eee. I've always wanted to see the aurora borealis.

[suzilem.livejournal.com]

real clouds in their mackerel ranks were moving in from the north

I LIKE this imagery!

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

Beams of ghostly pale shimmer bloomed up from the ground and swept like a searchlight made of mist across the stars, and faded, and swept again.

How beautifully and quietly said.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

Me too!

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

This is just lovely.

[jry.livejournal.com]

Saw them out here by Seattle too. Your description is perfect and lovely. You should write books or something ;-)

[thinkum]

I am quietly envious -- although hopefully not begrudging! -- of your visual treasure. (Decade upon decade of living in northern US latitudes, and to this day, somehow, I have never managed to see the Northern Lights.) Of such things were magics made.

[clindau.livejournal.com]

I saw them too--a bunch of us went outside to the top of the loading dock at about 7pm and watched them dance over the glass house at the Sculpture Garden. I had to shade the city's light pollution to see them, but I did see them. They were so faint it seemed like I was imagining things.

Later, at midnight, the lights were still dancing. I got home from the closing night party and luckily T was still up. We went out on the porch and watched as Orion was draped with the light. The mackerel clouds were moving in, and tried to make me think they were auroras too. As the clouds moved across, we went back inside.

Cindy

[lcohen]

oh wow.

oh wow, oh wow.

thank you. and of course *massive envy*

[thinkum]

You might like today's "Astronomy Picture of the Day" from NASA:

"This fisheye picture captures a particularly active and colorful auroral corona that occurred two days ago over l'Observatoire de la Decouverte in Val Belair near Quebec, Canada."