Rigsby'sUniquePhotography
North Dakota Aurora Borealis (Explored)
After a long week of Tropical Storm Lee coverage, I planned to come home and rest for a bit. But, after booking my early morning flight I got wind of an M class solar storm that erupted from the sun. So, I landed at 10:30am after waking up at 4am EDT to catch my flight, jumped in my vehicle and met up with my friend David Baxter III and we hauled up to North Dakota for what was honestly, a marginal chance at something substantial happening due to the CME hitting so early in the morning.
But, we threw the dice anyway and as we turned onto the road of our abandoned church solar data started going crazy and just after night fell an eruption of auroras took over the night skies with bright pillars and crazy flickering aurora like strobe lights.
But, the real show stopper was when the very rare STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement) made an appearance and not only made an appearance, but share the night sky with The Milky Way Galaxy! I've seen the aurora dozens of times, but have never documented a STEVE. A night I won't soon forget.
North Dakota Aurora Borealis (Explored)
After a long week of Tropical Storm Lee coverage, I planned to come home and rest for a bit. But, after booking my early morning flight I got wind of an M class solar storm that erupted from the sun. So, I landed at 10:30am after waking up at 4am EDT to catch my flight, jumped in my vehicle and met up with my friend David Baxter III and we hauled up to North Dakota for what was honestly, a marginal chance at something substantial happening due to the CME hitting so early in the morning.
But, we threw the dice anyway and as we turned onto the road of our abandoned church solar data started going crazy and just after night fell an eruption of auroras took over the night skies with bright pillars and crazy flickering aurora like strobe lights.
But, the real show stopper was when the very rare STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement) made an appearance and not only made an appearance, but share the night sky with The Milky Way Galaxy! I've seen the aurora dozens of times, but have never documented a STEVE. A night I won't soon forget.