Feb 26, a night to remember

Wow! What an amazing night. The CME hit at a perfect time for northern Europe to see the aurora right when the sun went down. And it hit hard, with amazing reds being seen as far south as France. That gave us in North America plenty of time to prepare. Kp 5, then Kp 6, then Kp 7 almost all night long. Solar winds held steady between 550 and 650 km/sec then rose to over 800.

Aurora was seen in the northeast, Maine, Pennsylvania, New York, and then moved toward the midwest….Ohio and Illinois saw the lights!! Red glow was seen with the naked eye for those away from city light pollution, and caught on camera for those inside the light pollution bloom. Canadian provinces on the border of the USA enjoyed the lights also, including the Toronto Ontario region. Clouds were a hindrance in some areas.

Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas saw aurora. So did parts of Iowa. Montana saw lights, but much of the state was cloudy. Check this out…Wyoming and Colorado saw wonderful red lights with a bit of purple and green. Idaho and Washington joined in as the earth rotated and the aurora oval dipped down that direction. Alaska, the entire state, saw aurora, and what was even more amazing is that most populated areas had clear skies,

Those in Anchorage, Alaska fought their way through the traffic to get to Flattop and Point Woronzof, but those who did not or could not leave their homes were treated with a show right outside their windows, no need to drive anywhere.

Here are my photos from North Pole Alaska. I will have a few videos posted to YouTube, and a few reels posted to Facebook. See you again tonight on social media. ~Amy