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| Above our house- Photo by The Becka May 10/11, 2024 |
There was one event this month that I regretfully missed. Solar storms happen regularly, and we often receive news notifications that the Aurora Borealis may be visible on a particular day. I remember seeing them only twice in my life;- once as a child in Aurora ON and in the winter near our house in the mid-1970s when I was walking the dog. Both times there was just a shimmer of green light.
I am a morning person and generally wake around 5:30 AM. I am ready to go to bed by 10:30 PM at the very latest. Three weeks ago tonight I was preparing to drive to Ottawa early the next morning and went to bed before 10 PM. Our daughter planned to stay up to look for the forecasted light display and I asked her to wake me up if they were visible. I considered the likelihood to be extremely low due to light pollution and quickly fell sound asleep. She tried to wake me up at 11:50 PM and showed me a picture she had taken of the Auroras. I said something but promptly fell back asleep and by morning thought it was all a dream. I missed the show of a lifetime!
I am grateful that Becka got to see them and was willing to share these photos with me. Her sleep cycle was the polar opposite of mine from the day she was born! She said in a post on her socials that the Auroras were more difficult to perceive with the naked eye than with the lens of a camera. The iPhone (and other phone cameras) take superb night shots and have editing options that accentuate the light display. I will definitely try harder to wake up if it ever happens again!
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| Above the school two blocks from our house- Photo by The Becka |
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