northern lights at 32 N latitude???

The ex texted me: "Did you see the Northern Lights last night?"

"Down here??"

He said: "All the way to GA! How far south, I'm not sure. It's happening again tonight if you have clear skies."

Then he sent a photo taken at West Branch, Michigan, a few miles from him. "The camera picks it up better than the naked eye does, for some reason."

And then he sent a photo of the news about the Northern Lights on the WSAV website!

I promptly forwarded that to those near and dear to me!!!

And just why are we able to see these?

They say it's due to a "rare and unusually strong solar storm" and should last through the weekend and possibly early next week.

WJCL did them one better, saying the storms were geomagnetic.

That station also said "Find a spot away from city lights and look north about an hour after sunset. I recommend trying around 9:30-11pm. You can keep checking throughout the night."

They also included this image from NOAA, which has much more information.

NOAA also describes the solar storms as "unusual and potentially historic."

That certainly got my attention!!!

(smile!)

So, what if you don't know which direction is north at your house?

Well, here's my advice, as I told my nephew, Michael: "If you have your right arm aligned with where the sun is in the morning, and your left arm for where the sun sets, you will be facing north."

That's why I went outside and stood in my back yard, facing the house where the West family once lived, and looked up to the sky.

Because of the scattered trees in others' yards, my back yard is sheltered from city lights.

So many stars I saw, with the Big Dipper almost directly above my head!!!

As I looked at it, I couldn't help but think of what I had learned from the Joseph Conyers' concert, about the star Dubhe in that constellation.

Sure enough, that star, and its companion, confirmed that I was looking due north.

(smile!)

And so I stood and watched the night sky, with more stars appearing as I adjusted to the darkness all around me.

I even saw a shooting star around 11 PM!!!

I also saw vertical lines of shifting light up in that sky, though not with any color to them.

I stayed out there until just a few minutes ago.

I'll try again tomorrow evening.

(smile!)