Exploring Fabius Township and St. Joseph County, Michigan, with side trips all over this Great Lakes state

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

What ignites your imagination?

Recent explosions on the sun have ignited not only my imagination but also incredible sights on earth.  Auroras are not insipid events!  I have had only one incident of viewing one live and that was just outside Marquette in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula back in the early 70’s.  It was late August, and the friend we were visiting woke us about four in the morning to invite us to come outside.  First he pointed out the frozen (!) bucket of water and then pointed up to the sky which was filled with the most brilliant, undulating waves of lights, greens and reds and whites, whose impression is impossible to catch with words.   One is awe-struck when in the presence of an aurora borealis!  

I wish I could include one of my own photos of an aurora, but since I have none I will send you to SpaceWeather.com to see the photos that others have captured in the last month.  There you can also learn more about upcoming events in space to keep an eye out for.  I invite you to sign up for email alerts of solar flares, auroras, meteors, etc.   Have you seen the close conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in the western sky over North America?  Keep scrolling to find the aurora albums.

From the auroras photographed in February, here is one on Lake Superior's Au Train Bay where I have photographed amazing sunrises but not auroras -- yet....!  Aaron Peterson shot this on what he said was a rare clear night sky over Lake Superior.  See more of his photos at his website, archive.aaronpeterson.net.

http://spaceweather.com/submissions/pics/a/Aaron-Peterson-NorthernLights-AuroraBorealis-3673_1329630617.jpg

And finally here  is a time lapse photo/video of the March 12 aurora in Wasilla, Alaska.  This needs to be watched when you have time to drift along with the lights.  Although we couldn't be there, we can contemplate its beauty in this 6-minute video. 

Do not stay in ignorance of the other inspiring bloggers on Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday.  I am insistent about your visiting ABC Wednesday!

18 comments:

  1. I wish I could actually see one at least once in my lifetime! Lucky you!

    Leslie
    abcw team

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  2. I would love to see these someday. Great post! Blessings, Debbie

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  3. It would be so awesome to witness that.

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  4. I would so love to see the Aurora Borealis. It was really good in Scotland a couple of weeks ago but we nevrer get it as far south as Liverpool.

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  5. There is a Neil Young song, Pocahontas, that talks about aurora borealis, running in my head.
    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

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  6. Gorgeous!

    I is for Ice, please come before it melts.
    Rose, ABC Wednesday Team

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  7. amazing! i wish i could witness an aurora borealis before i die.

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  8. Oh my! This is stunning! I've never seen the "northern lights," but think it would be a spectacular experience.

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  9. Marvelous! Since childhood, «Louis» has been fascinated with the Aurora!

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  10. Very Interesting entry for I day!
    Would love to see one of those beautiful aurora borealis!

    ***
    Have a wonderful Spring season****

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  11. I saw them while camping in Newberry once, quite a sight for sure! Hoping everything is going ok for you, seeing this entry was from back in March. Also to say that if you are on Instagram, I want to follow!

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  12. You haven't blogged since March. Are you OK? Will there be more photos, sometime? I shouldn't talk, as my blog hasn't been updated this year.

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    1. Dear Kitchenpoet, a bad time occurred, but time is bringing me out of it. I am out photographing again. How about you?

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  13. Hi, Helen, we're still somewhat discombobulated by events during the winter, but we're recovering, and the garden is growing well. We attempt to organize and plan, but we're still flying by the seat of our pants and taking it as it comes. The camera became a millstone around my neck, and covering the Missoula music scene came to feel like a job. There will be new stuff soon but what it will be, I'm not sure.

    I can tell you I am working on being the best friend your sister Melissa ever had. We celebrate forward steps and try not to beat ourselves up for mistakes and failures.

    Hang in there, and one day we'll share stories and relate what we've learned.

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  14. You're becoming telepathic. My blog ends when we assisted in erecting the big tent on the courthouse lawn. The site is:

    olshittay-inthekitchen.blogspot.com

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