First Time Seeing the Aurora
by Tim Phelan
After missing out on several of the recent geomagnetic storms that visited us in 2024, I was finally able to experience the magic of the aurora borealis myself. Having an infant at home doesn't afford much time to stay up late photographing anything, which is why I love my "set-it-and-forget-it" astrophotography rig. I received an email from SpaceWeatherLive.com notifying me that there was an X-class flare coming from the sun and it was headed towards Earth with impacts possible 10/9-11. I watched the SpaceWeatherLive app on my phone and watched as the Kp index number was predicted to be 8+. The Kp index is a way of condensing all the various data about the strength of geomagnetic storms into one number indicating how far south the aurora might be seen. A Kp index of 8-9 is typically required for aurora to be seen in Maryland.
First glimpse of the aurora
From my backyard facing west just after sunset
I was planning on going out late Thursday night, the night of 10/10 and driving to Holtwood, PA to an overlook of the Susquehanna. The moon wasn't due to set until almost midnight so I was prepared for a very tired day of work on Friday. To my surprise, I was outside approximately 30 minutes after sunset putting garbage in the recycle bin on my deck which faces west. I looked up in the sky as I always do and saw a very bright red arc of light right above the trees. I thought, "Wait, could that be the aurora?!" But I wasn't facing north. I pulled out my phone and snapped a photo and sure enough, it was the aurora! I yelled at my wife Kasey to come out and look and she came out with the baby and saw it. I then ran out front and saw something stunning: more red aurora dancing over our neighborhood! I could not believe how bright they were in my Bortle 7 neighborhood with the streetlights, a first quarter moon, and a sky that wasn't even fully dark.
An amazing display of aurora from my Bortle 7 home
I alerted my neighbors who were sitting outside looking at the moon that if they turned around they could see the aurora. They were amazed that they had been facing the opposite direction and quickly called their kids to come look. I spent some time outside enjoying the show and then at 8 PM I decided to hit the road and drive up to Holtwood. I arrived there just after 9 PM and was treated to another outburst from 10-10:30 PM. The sky was awash in red and green! The aurora was glowing all around me, even in the southern sky! Below is a link to a timelapse I shot from about 180 images. It truly was an amazing experience, one that I'll not soon forget. It's almost like a solar eclipse...you see one and you feel like you need to see them all. Am I an aurora chaser now?
Aurora seen from Holtwood, PA overlooking the Susquehanna River. The water was beautifully reflecting the red and green glow of the aurora
