The Trout Zone: Space Weather

Monday, June 03, 2024

Aurora Borealis in Tennessee

Yes, that's not a typo. By now you have probably seen everyone else's pictures via social media, but almost a month later, I'm still in shock. Seeing the "northern lights" was always on my bucket list. However, I assumed it would take a trip to Iceland or something similar to eventually get to enjoy this incredible phenomena.

I really owe a debt of gratitude to an old friend of mine who now lives in London. Reuben posted a picture on Facebook of the northern lights as viewed from northern London. I had seen the hype on social media and in the news, but hadn't thought much beyond that. Seeing that picture from Reuben convinced me that it was worth taking a look.

There is a great dark sky location not far from home, probably 20 minutes away or so. We have used it to view things like Comet NEOWISE. With good visibility down to the horizon in most directions and most importantly looking north, it was the perfect place to try and catch the aurora borealis. After getting the toddler in her carseat, we started driving shortly after sunset. As the light faded in the western sky, our anticipation began to build.

We met my sister, brother-in-law, and niece on the side of the little country road. Thankfully, it sees very little traffic, so we were able to just stop in the road. When we all started looking, we weren't sure if we were seeing something special or the remaining light from the fine sunset. As it got darker, a shimmering glow began to rise and fall to our north. A quick camera picture with a longer exposure confirmed what we were seeing: it was the northern lights.

From there, the evening was magnificent. We stayed until a little after 10:00 pm which had pushed Little Bit's bedtime much later than ideal, but it was a pretty special set of circumstances. The colors ranged from pink, to red, to green. At the best moments, we could easily see everything with the naked eye. The shimmering lights rose to straight overhead and even south of us as the entire sky lit up.

Now I'll just have to go to Iceland for the fishing I suppose. Here are a few of the pictures from this magical evening in Tennessee.