Islanders enchanted by rare northern lights display

3

For most people, experiencing the northern lights firsthand is a bucket-list item hindered by geographical and other constraints. But in a rare occurrence on Thursday night last week, residents around the Island took to their porches and backyards to capture a clean glimpse of the cosmic phenomenon. 

For many, including Oak Bluffs resident Elisa Speranza, it’s a moment they won’t forget. “A neighbor texted, ‘Go outside! Now!’ And there they were, not visible to the naked eye at that point [10 pm] but there on my little iPhone screen, like an apparition, as I stood in my pajamas on our deck next to Brush Pond in Oak Bluffs,” Speranza said. “Of course, I know these flares might be a harbinger of planetary doom, which is concerning. But in these turbulent times, as I check this item off my bucket list, the sense of wonder and joy this scientific phenomenon has provided for so many of us seems worth celebrating.”

Speranza, who said that seeing the aurora borealis was on her bucket list, was one of a number who shared the experience, and photos, with The Times.

David Stanwood, a West Tisbury resident, was another who had a chance encounter with the aurora when he happened to walk out his back door in Lambert’s Cove around 7:15 Thursday evening. 

“I saw what had the look and motion of a small fireball meteor, but the colors were muted, and all pinkish, which reminded me of tonight’s aurora alert,” Stanwood wrote to The Times. “I wheeled around to the north, and beheld with joy the stunning display of pink rays with shooting, white streaks descending into green.” 

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration space weather prediction center reports that the lights were the results of “severe geomagnetic storms,” meaning a major disturbance in the Earth’s magnetic field.

National news reported that much of North America had an opportunity to see the aurora borealis on Thursday evening.

Here’s a description from NOAA of what caused the phenomenon: “The Sun emits electrically charged particles called ions, which correspondingly move away from the Sun in a stream of plasma (ionized gas) known as the solar wind. As the plasma comes in contact with the Earth’s magnetic field, the ions will be agitated into moving around the Earth. Some of the ions become trapped, and will consequently interact with the Earth’s ionosphere (an average of 60 to 80 miles above the surface), causing the ions to glow. This is the same principle as how a neon sign lights up. As electrons pass through the neon tubing, they glow, thus producing the light in a neon sign.

“The aurorae are constantly changing and moving in streams of light or curtains, because the process of how the Sun’s ionized gas interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field is very dynamic. Although harmless to life on Earth, the aurora can cause power disruptions in satellite communications and in radio/TV broadcasts.”

Unscientifically, Vineyard resident Irene Miller Fyler may have captured best what all of those who saw the lights were feeling: “This was an amazing event that I never anticipated I would ever see this far South. It was awe-inspiring.”

3 COMMENTS

  1. Is that the Northern Lights or did they simply switch the lights from red to green on all those windmills?

    • Love it
      When I first saw that pic for some reason it made me think of Uriah Heep. It would have made a great album cover.

Comments are closed.