For those who don't know what the Northern Lights are, or to give them their official name, the
Aurora Borealis, have a look here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_%28astronomy%29
Two of my colleagues and I found ourselves in a dark part of the countryside last night, which isn't in itself unusual. It was a freezing-cold night, and very clear. It's amazing how many stars you can see in the night sky when free of any light pollution.
Then they started, slowly at first but very quickly covering the lower part of the Northern sky. What was first a very faint green glow quickly became a spectacular light show with ribbons and columns of light weaving across the night sky, with faint patches in some places and areas of intense brightness and activity in others. It was an awesome thing to witness; incredibly beautiful and serene.
Usually, the lights are very faint here in Caithness, but last night was a notable exception, certainly in the memory of my more mature collegues. I don't know what caused such a storm of radiation striking the atmosphere, but it was a performance in the sky which far surpasses anything man-made.
They lasted about an hour, and then they were gone. I did try to capture it on video, but the camera on my phone lacked the sensitivity to pick up the aurora. It seems the lights were for human eyes only, in the absence of specialist equipment.
I don't know if I'll ever see them again in such intensity, but I'm glad I was treated to the experience at least once in my life.
