by Peggy Robin
Today's print edition of the Washington Post had the best quote from a DC resident who saw nature's awesome light show in the skies over our area on Thursday night:
Laurel Whitman said, "“Bucket list item, checked! This is so wonderful. I went to Iceland twice to try and see them, and should’ve looked in my own backyard”
Laurel echoes just what I've heard from everyone I know who's ever booked a budget-busting trip to Norway, or Yellowknife or some lonely outpost at the arctic circle in Alaska. Clouds and more clouds, all night long.
But last Thursday night, you just had to heed the command of Lindsay @TheLindsayM on the SiFKATwit (that's my acronym for the "Site Formerly Known As Twitter)":
"DC GO OUTSIDE NOW"
Here's the auroral glow over the National Cathedral right here in the neighborhood!
Photo by Andrew Leyden @PenguinSix - 10:30pm
You'd see even brighter colors if you were able to get away from the city's lights - like Dave Lyons,
@insiteimage, who posted the photo below:
Last night's Aurora Borealis / Northern Lights at Shenandoah. 10:02pm. So many dancing light pillars
One of my favorite Capital Weather Gang photographers is Kevin Ambrose (best known for his photos of our favorite cherry tree, Stumpy), who had the good fortune to be in West Virginia, where he took these four shots:
My favorite of all the pics is by Heather Goss @heathermg
I wish I had the bandwidth to post a few dozen more pix of of the aurora in our region -- but fortunately, the Capital Weather Gang at the Washington Post has compiled an album of 36 photos & videos:
If you missed it in real life, you may get more chances. Scientists predict that there will be more such episodes coming in 2024 and continuing through 2025 due to frequently and intense geomagnetic solar storms -- see https://escales.ponant.com/us/2024-and-2025-exceptional-years-for-the-northern-lights/
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Still Life with Robin is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.
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