Watch the Most Recent Northern Lights Dance Above Seattle’s Sky
It was all lined up for us, Seattlites, as a large aurora storm combined with mostly clear skies made it look like we could have a repeat of the May spectacular. Monday evening saw a CME (Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun’s corona) head toward Earth, raising the probability of another epic night under colorful skies.
While I probably should have grabbed my gear and headed into the mountains for more darkness and better compositions, instead, I went to Golden Gardens just down the road from my place. The last time the Aurora showed up, I had decent results here and hoped for something similar.
Unfortunately, I missed the first big burst of the northern lights, which seemed to last only a few minutes. But I was patient, waiting almost two more hours until they reappeared around 11:00 pm on Monday, September 16.
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Ultimately, the 30-minute show was hardly visible to the naked eye (I only saw two green flashes), and it eventually settled down. What you see in my timelapse video is thanks to my camera’s long exposure and some editing to make it more visible. The full moon did not help either, as its light drowned out some of the colors in the sky.
But, if you knew what to look for, you could see small movements in the sky, which made it worth it. I mean, I said wow a few dozen times as I looked up and down from my camera’s screen.
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That said, after I went to bed, around 12:45 a.m. to 1 a.m., the night sky had another eruption. This one was two hours in length, as you can see on the SkunkBay Webcam below.
You’ll see good color around 8:30 p.m., 11 p.m., and 1 a.m.
Until next time, adventurers, stay safe.
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