I first saw the aurora borealis in June of 2015 from the Richard B. Russell Highway north of Helen. After that event, I was instantly hooked on chasing auroras in the south.
This rare and mystical sight is one few have ever seen in the southeastern U.S., often involving perfect timing and some travel to get good views. This past Thursday was no exception.
I found myself in northwest North Carolina on the Blue Ridge Parkway, a place I am all too familiar with. Just north of the town of Boone is one of the better overlooks to see the northern lights when they briefly become southern ones. It points due north and has some, but not much, light pollution.
I arrived at my spot later than I would have liked because this geomagnetic storm was a surprise. There were no large solar flares like you would expect in order to see auroras this far south. Instead, a consistent crack in Earth’s magnetic field opened up, and it stayed that way for over 24 hours. This allowed time for the storm to build far enough south to be visible from parts of the Southeast.
As soon as I pulled into my spot, I was immediately greeted by a familiar red glow in the sky. You are probably more familiar with green auroras, but in the Southeast, they are far more commonly seen as red. This is because we see them higher up in the atmosphere than those in the northern U.S. and Canada. Auroras higher up have different reactions that change their color. They are also not nearly as bright, most often only appearing as a red glow in the sky.
Over the next hour, I would see this glow come and go; occasionally, brighter pillars would appear, as seen above. During both my previous views, I saw more of a purple, and even white, color to them, but this time it was most certainly deep red.
Up until midnight, the glow persisted but eventually began to fade. I finally packed the camera up just after midnight and headed off to find a bed.
This visit from an old friend was a nice surprise this week.
Over the next two to three years, it is likely that we will see more of this across the Southeast, and I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see them make it into Georgia a couple of times. If that ever looks likely to happen, we’ll let you know here on Now Habersham so you, too, can catch a glimpse of this beautiful natural light display.
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I’ll be back next week with some photos from my first trip to the west coast. In the meantime, perhaps I’ll see you on the road…..
