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So cool

The other night I had to drive the wife to a meeting (she can't drive because she's recovering from surgery).

It was about 6:25 pm and the sun had set but there was a really weird colour to the sky.

In fact it looked a lot like some early wallpaper used by the Ubuntu distro of Linux. A fantastic purple color with a tinge of orange.

At first I put this down to being just another wonderful autumn sunset -- but it wasn't.

It was only when I noticed that the glow wasn't dimming with the passing minutes that I finally twigged as to what I was seeing.

Woohoo... an aurora!

I've always wanted to see one of these but this was the first time I've actually been able to do so.

It wasn't what I was expecting though.

My expectation was that I'd see those lovely curtains of green and purple light that are so often seen in pictures of the Northern and Southern Lights. Chances are that if I'd been closer to the Southern end of the country I'd have been able to see those illuminations but way up here in Tokoroa all we got was the "glow" of things happening below the horizon.

However, the experience was still a fantastic one.

The sad thing is that I strongly doubt many other people even noticed.

My wife and I often sit outside and watch the setting sun, taking in every glorious momement of the transition from day to night as the clouds light-up with crimson and red against a sky that starts blue but often becomes green in contrast.

It's these little things that I feel make the difference between simply living and actually being alive and it saddens me that most people are inside watching some mind-sapping sitcom or soap opera on TV while this spectacle takes place above their heads.

Fortunately the solar conditions that have produced these aurora are predicted to continue for a little while so chances are there will be more fantastic evening viewing to come in the days ahead.

How many Aardvark readers have seen the recent auroras?

Are you as captivated by these incredible sights as I am?

Carpe Diem folks!

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