mistressofmuses (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mistressofmuses) wrote2024-05-11 08:38 pm
mistressofmuses) wrote2024-05-11 08:38 pm
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Auroras!
Like much of the rest of the northern hemisphere, last night was forecast to be one of the best chances to see the northern lights/aurora borealis in our area. Colorado is definitely too far south under most circumstances. There have been a handful of them within the last several years visible in parts of CO, though they tend to be minimal. Regardless, I'd never seen them!
We had some cloud cover early in the day, but it was supposed to lighten up overnight. The forecast suggested going north and east for the best chance to see them. So we headed out toward Fort Morgan right around sunset, hoping to get out past the light pollution of the metro area(s), and see what we could see!
The auroras weren't very visible to the naked eye where we were at; it mostly looked like a strange, silvery cloud that looked a bit like fog. However, Alex's phone camera picked them up quite well! (Tragically, mine did not register it even slightly. Not the foggy look, not even a hint of color, just black.)
But Alex got some very nice pictures!
This is my favorite of Alex's pictures. All the colors!
This one is from the first place we pulled over, on a rural road north of Fort Morgan. It was very exciting to see, even though this wasn't the most impressive timespan for them.
We hung out there for a bit, then headed north a bit farther. Almost as impressive as the auroras were the stars - it's been a long while since I was very far away from the light pollution of a city.
We got some pictures and watched for a while, though at this point it wasn't visible except on Alex's phone. It was pretty cold, so when it sort of started to fade a bit, we started to head back. We'd driven for a couple hours, so had a couple hours home, and I had to work in the morning.
Back down past Fort Morgan, part of the way to Wiggins, the aurora started getting a lot more intense to the north. We started to be able to see some color unaided, albeit faintly. Mostly some green toward the center, and red around the edges.
This is a lot more intense than was visible to the naked eye, but those were the colors we could faintly see.
We pulled off the highway onto a very conveniently placed side road to watch.
The vertical striations were a lot more obvious this time!
I love these colors.
Around this time, the aurora started to sort of... pulse? It's a very strange thing, more like a ripple moving through water than anything else. Or like iridescence moving across a rock? It was really cool to watch. It looked quite alien and cool.
And one more of the green.
After this we headed home. It was very late, and we were tired, and the dogs were tired, lol. There were a few people who got pretty decent pictures even within the city, but I'm glad we went up to a darker area. Having never seen auroras before (though I have dreamed of them occasionally), I'm so glad that I've gotten to! It was well worth the late night and standing outside in the cold.
We had some cloud cover early in the day, but it was supposed to lighten up overnight. The forecast suggested going north and east for the best chance to see them. So we headed out toward Fort Morgan right around sunset, hoping to get out past the light pollution of the metro area(s), and see what we could see!
The auroras weren't very visible to the naked eye where we were at; it mostly looked like a strange, silvery cloud that looked a bit like fog. However, Alex's phone camera picked them up quite well! (Tragically, mine did not register it even slightly. Not the foggy look, not even a hint of color, just black.)
But Alex got some very nice pictures!
This is my favorite of Alex's pictures. All the colors!
This one is from the first place we pulled over, on a rural road north of Fort Morgan. It was very exciting to see, even though this wasn't the most impressive timespan for them.
We hung out there for a bit, then headed north a bit farther. Almost as impressive as the auroras were the stars - it's been a long while since I was very far away from the light pollution of a city.
We got some pictures and watched for a while, though at this point it wasn't visible except on Alex's phone. It was pretty cold, so when it sort of started to fade a bit, we started to head back. We'd driven for a couple hours, so had a couple hours home, and I had to work in the morning.
Back down past Fort Morgan, part of the way to Wiggins, the aurora started getting a lot more intense to the north. We started to be able to see some color unaided, albeit faintly. Mostly some green toward the center, and red around the edges.
This is a lot more intense than was visible to the naked eye, but those were the colors we could faintly see.
We pulled off the highway onto a very conveniently placed side road to watch.
The vertical striations were a lot more obvious this time!
I love these colors.
Around this time, the aurora started to sort of... pulse? It's a very strange thing, more like a ripple moving through water than anything else. Or like iridescence moving across a rock? It was really cool to watch. It looked quite alien and cool.
And one more of the green.
After this we headed home. It was very late, and we were tired, and the dogs were tired, lol. There were a few people who got pretty decent pictures even within the city, but I'm glad we went up to a darker area. Having never seen auroras before (though I have dreamed of them occasionally), I'm so glad that I've gotten to! It was well worth the late night and standing outside in the cold.