146. See the Northern Lights -- Take 2

 There were a lot of reports that there was a good chance at seeing the Northern Lights in Northeastern Wisconsin. The conditions were right -- big solar flare and clear skies. I thought I may have seen them a few years back but there weren't very bright. I didn't have high hopes this time around either.

I went to bed and around 11:30 the hubby came and woke me up saying if I wanted to see the Northern Lights to come outside. If I looked through my phone's camera I could faintly pick up the colors from the driveway.

We decided to get in the car and head a bit out of town. We headed north northwest towards Freedom and Seymour. Using the camera on my phone, I got much better pictures. I just wish the hubby would have just parked somewhere so we could enjoy them more instead of driving and looking at them.

There were impressive but not a lot of pinks but definitely green and even some dancing. 

One day I hope to see them over the water in Door County and maybe if I'm really lucky in Alaska or Iceland. I'm not holding my breath on those. For now this midnight road trip will have to suffice. 

If the Northern Lights forecast is right, take a few minutes to see if you see them. Sometimes you have to use your phone's camera to pick them up. They are pretty dang cool to see.

#146 See the Northern Lights... Or Not

I came home from the dentist yesterday and my phone buzzes. My Northern Lights app tells my there's a very good chance of seeing the Northern Lights that night. This was the first I heard about them being so close. The hubby comes home and I ask him if he heard anything about being able to see the Northern Lights. We find out that there is a very good chance at seeing them last night.  I was excited. I've always wanted to see them and the one time that I could have seen them, while student teaching in college about 15 years ago, I wasn't even aware that they were occurring.  I probably could have seen them on our cruise to Alaska if I wanted to stand on the deck in the dark and cold.....

Before I went to bed last night, we check the status the of the Northern Lights and the hubby feels that they would not peak for a few more hours. I set my alarm for midnight. About 11, he comes to wake me up and says we should be able to see them. People are reporting them down in Sheyboygan.

I get dressed and out we head. I grab the camera just in case. I knew we needed to get away from the city. I would have headed east towards the country and farms in Manitowoc County. He had other ideas and headed northwest towards Shawno. We really didn't see anything. There was some milky whiteness in the sky that possibly could have been the beginning/end of the lights. We were out about an hour and I was truly disappointed.

This morning, after seeing pictures online and reading posts on Facebook, I discovered that we should have headed east as the Lakeshore was probably the best spot to see them. I was impressed by the pictures I saw. The hubby on the other hand didn't think they were all that great. He said he's seen better in Wisconsin.

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Collar from wbay.com

I guess when that cheap airfare to Europe becomes available I just will have to rent an igloo in Iceland and watch the Northern Lights.

On Wednesday, March 18, I did manage to see a bit of the Northern Lights right outside our apartment. I friend told me she could see them from her backyard on the north side of Appleton and I went outside  and was able to see the green of the lights. I tried to go up to USA Sports and by the time I got up there, they already dissipated.