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The Northern Lights...Ever Seen Them?

T

Tituscrow

Inactive
Feb 14, 2011
1,502
1,727
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NW England
#1
Following Ivar's thread, it reminded me of how each time I've been that far north (Iceland and Finnish Lapland twice), I've missed the Northern Lights by a matter of days each time.

I was wondering if any TB'ers have been lucky enough to witness them? If so, are they as mind-blowingly awesome as I hope they will be if I am ever lucky enough to witness such a show?
 
#3
kanonfodr said:
Saw it from a plane that was transiting the North Pole en route from Amsterdam to Alaska, it wasn't the biggest showing of them but still really cool. I would love to be able to get the full effect one day instead of just the airliner window view.

Peace,
Greg
Click to expand...

I'm envious of even your fleeting view! Funnily enough, I was looking only last week at flights from various UK airports which potter around the Shetlands with the vague assurance of a viewing. Wondering whether it's worth taking the chance?
 
#5
I remember as a boy living in Montreal one summer the Northern Lights for some reason drifted so far south that we could see them directly overhead. It was a spectacular sight, a shimmering green curtain stretching from one horizon to another. I've never seen anything like it before or since. I have seen them since, but always low to the northern horizon and for only a brief moment in time.
 
#6
I've been able to see them here is Spokane. Twice. Once when we were outside the city near Ritzville on our move out here (right after Thanksgiving 2001 as we came up from a pit stop at a friend's house in SLC).

Then again as my GF at the time and I were laying down in an empty field a day before hitting the road to catch a few Phish shows on the summer tour of 2003 (two shows at the Gorge and one down in West Valley Utah).
 
#10
They occur regularly in my region. One of the most spectacular auroras I ever saw was on the #16 Trans-Canada highway (the "Yellowhead") east of Edmonton - far from any nearby towns or other light sources. We pulled over for a pit stop and witnessed one of the most amazing displays I've ever seen. We're a little too far south in Winnipeg to get the full overhead show, it's usually just the northern one-third of the sky down here.
 
#20
There were a few years in the mid 90's where they seemed to decrease most scientists claimed it was due to volcanic ash in the atmosphere. I use to see them frequently in MI in the spring. I saw them a couple of years ago in Detroit on a cold clear night. But the most spectacular displays I've seen where on the shores of Lake MI looking north towards the Upper Peninsula of MI.
 

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