An amazing Aurora!!

On Sunday, we hadn't seen an aurora in awhile because of clouds. We monitored the skies less closely and we didn't even check the aurora forecast daily. Luckily, on Sunday I looked it up. And guess what! Due to solar activity on the 28th, they expected a spike in activity on the 30th. That spike? An expected level 4 -- the highest we'd ever seen. Even better? The current activity was at a 7! Unfortunately it was still daylight outside when I looked this up. If only we lived in eastern Canada or Scandinavia...

I kept a close eye on the setting sun. I went out and looked just before 9 and there were no stars visible, but it was almost dark out. I went out a few minutes later and noticed a star, then another, and then I saw a big streak through the sky! I ran inside and got Laura. We then saw what had probably been happening there for awhile, hidden by the sun - the most amazing aurora ever!

There were multiple streaks through the skies. We could see green, and red on the bottom. It moved so fast and free like in all the videos. It continued for about a half hour, moving all over the sky - east, west, north and south. Did I mention it was amazing? It was amazing... Here are some photos we took. They were long exposure, so they make it look a bit greener than it was. (Though it did look green). Conversely, it doesn't show the movement, so I figure it balances out.