(Spoiler Alert: if for some reason you see this post before you see Part I....stop and go find Part I before continuing)
OK, so we are now getting some impressive displays in the sky. And that is the other thing about the Aurora. The camera only catches a little bit of the sky. When you see our pictures, like everyone else's pictures, you will think all of the action takes place on the horizon. That's because that is what makes the prettiest pictures with something stable there to anchor the image and give it perspective. But now I understand the advice I was given by the helpful cashier at the mini market the first night we were here. I wanted to at least look for the lights when we were stuck in the city so I asked him to forgive my ignorance, but should I be looking north? He said no, look up. Up? He said, yes, they fill the whole sky. But we don't think about that because we are seeing those artistic images of the horizon. But damn if they don't go straight across the sky. And, of course, they change all the time. Sometimes slowly....mostly brightening and fading. But sometimes fast.
We don't have video. No idea how you get that but it likely requires far more impressive cameras than we have. But once things really heated up at 10:30P it was two hours of light show movement. I was just spinning in circles, again like a little kid but now in my arctic suit and boots, saying, "ooh, look there. Oh no over there. Oh man, behind you now." As the whole sky kept changing. At times, the lights would start to break up in vertical lines like this:
OK, so we are now getting some impressive displays in the sky. And that is the other thing about the Aurora. The camera only catches a little bit of the sky. When you see our pictures, like everyone else's pictures, you will think all of the action takes place on the horizon. That's because that is what makes the prettiest pictures with something stable there to anchor the image and give it perspective. But now I understand the advice I was given by the helpful cashier at the mini market the first night we were here. I wanted to at least look for the lights when we were stuck in the city so I asked him to forgive my ignorance, but should I be looking north? He said no, look up. Up? He said, yes, they fill the whole sky. But we don't think about that because we are seeing those artistic images of the horizon. But damn if they don't go straight across the sky. And, of course, they change all the time. Sometimes slowly....mostly brightening and fading. But sometimes fast.
We don't have video. No idea how you get that but it likely requires far more impressive cameras than we have. But once things really heated up at 10:30P it was two hours of light show movement. I was just spinning in circles, again like a little kid but now in my arctic suit and boots, saying, "ooh, look there. Oh no over there. Oh man, behind you now." As the whole sky kept changing. At times, the lights would start to break up in vertical lines like this:
And then they would start to spin and swirl and at one point the movement rippled through an S-shaped curve of light that looked like someone cracking a whip. Again, no video, but here are three separate images taken within 60 seconds...(they are blurrier because they are moving throughout an 8 second exposure)
The whole experience was overwhelming and awe-inspiring. Even the guide ran for his camera in the end and rated the evening a 9 out of 10. We go out again tonight and tomorrow night. The odds of seeing this kind of display are pretty slim. But I wouldn't miss taking that chance. It's why we are here. Michael always says, "you can sleep when you are dead."
A poster on the wall of the restaurant here at the hotel this morning also said it pretty well:
"Eat Well Travel Often".
This is unbelievably awesome! I said I wanted to give up travelling but .....
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