Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Aurora Borealis

Yesterday morning (November 1st)I was walking CranB as I do every morning and was noticing how very clear the stars were. Star gazing in the mornings is incredible here in Oscarville. The clearer and crisper the air the better the viewing. Well, yesterday as I was looking up I saw the infamous Northern Lights, also known as Aurora Borealis, and squealed. Yes, I am a squealer during moments of delight, but those of you who know me already are aware of that little Segue fact. As a tour leader in Alaska I saw the lights a handful of times, but yesterday morning was the first sighting I have had since living here in the Great North. SO AMAZING!!!

I was so excited I ran back to my house dragging CranB (she didn't know what was going on but was content to follow) so I could tell Tiffany. She came outside to look; her first year and already she has seen The Lights!! In all the excitement I didn't grab my Flip camera. A regular photo wouldn't do it justice, but maybe the Flip could have caught the greens shining across the sky with flickers of blue. CranB and I went out again and ran back across the village. Even though we live in a teeny village we have street (boardwalk) lights and the viewing of the Aurora Borealis was seen best on the other side of the village, closer to the Kuskokwim River, on the far side of the two story building. If you had a map of my village this would make more sense. The short of the long of it is the viewing was better away from the lights, away from my house.

In my various viewings of the Northern Lights, the lights look different: the colors, the patterns, the time. This light appeared to be shining up from behind something, but it wasn't. The morning's air crisp and the stars shone bright; there were no clouds in the sky. And yet this green light beamed up into the sky radiating such beauty and energy. The sight simply awesome, and I full of awe.

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