Baltimore - Aurora 2025

T-5:00
The aurora charts were the most promising they'd been in a year, approaching last year's peak - the bible put it at northern Pennsylvania, as opposed to the Mason-Dixon viewline from last year, but there have been some cool flares in the last week (I've been nerding out over space weather). So for the first time this year I texted the family chat that there might have a chance, and then promptly forgot about it.

T-0:55
Hours later I was deep into editing my Scotland photos when Adam texted "Partly cloudy in Boston and nothing yet". So I checked my 5 favorite space weather charts, and they looked promising. Bz was plummeting, and 20 minutes from now was supposed to be great. Ten minutes of research later I went out for a look (with a camera, even a cellphone will see it before you can) and saw nothing. So I checked the charts again, and the early-warning satellites [Satellites a million miles out at the L1 provide a few days warning on ion flow, and GEO satellites provide a 20 minute warning for the magnetosphere - both have to collide for a good show] were putting out the best numbers I've ever seen (-200 Bz!). I dashed off some texts, found a coat to disguise my bathrobe, and headed away from the streetlights.

A thing!

T-0:12

I saw a thing in my camera. A red blob, but that's a thing. Charts were still improving, so I headed to the graveyard which is my closest darkest place. I found a tree to use as a foreground and snapped a pic. Even stronger. Now that I knew where to look, I could make it out by eye. Basically just glowing clouds, but I'm gonna count it. Trading pics between the DSLR (50' @ 6s - should have gone wider) and my  phone, things are definitely happening and green is kicking in. I texted a shot to the family chat and got a response from Lancaster that was gorgeous.

(Lancaster)

T+0:03

My fingers were numb but I kept the both shutters popping, and now I could tell by eye when to snap. (Not that it was good to the eye, or that I wouldn't have shot anyway). Then two distinct green spots flared up before everything faded out.  

T+0:20

Charts/apps said we might get another peak in 20 minutes, so I rubbed my hands together and stomped around in a futile attempt to warm up. Not 37f is that cold, but it was upper 60s yesterday and I'm not emotionally prepared for it to be winter. A brief red glow in the sky, a few final pics, and it was over.  Definitely not the transcendental experience of my first aurora, but even a bad aurora is a great evening.