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Aurora busting out all over

Aurora over Allston

Tom Leonard spotted the aurora right over his house in Lower Allston - looking west on Athol Street - around 7:20 p.m.

Kevin D. Jordan spotted the lights around the Needham TV towers - and he reports that unlike last time, they were definitely visible with the naked eye, even if only briefly:

Aurora over Needham

Johnah Saitz couldn't help but notice the aurora over Newton around 7:30:

Aurora over Newton

Matthew Murray saw a greener aurora over Lane's Cove in Gloucester, around 8:50 p.m.:

Aurora over Gloucester

Greg McKenna went outside to spot the lights over Roslindale around 7:30 p.m.:

Aurora over Roslindale

Mary Ellen spotted it over West Roxbury, too:

Aurora over West Roxbury

Patty N. also looked up in West Roxbury, from the topmost soccer fields at Millennium Park around 8 p.m.:

Aurora over Millennium Park in West Roxbury

Later in the evening, Ryan saw shimmering over the Jenga building and the Citgo sign in Kenmore Square around 10:15 p.m.:

Aurora over Kenmore Square

Leonard adds he and his family didn't go out looking for the aurora, didn't even know there was a chance they'd see the lights:

It was definitely visible with the naked eye. My wife and I were taking our son for our evening walk and I was like “Woah look at the sky it’s completely red!” We both did a quick Google search for northern lights and saw a BBC article posted a few hours about how they’ll be visible tonight.

Seemed like it started in the west and moved east, but definitely was clearly visible without a camera.

Never thought I’d ever see the northern lights in Boston!

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Comments

Some of these pics look like the prelude to an alien invasion or maybe I just watch too much SciFi.

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I like it!

I saw one pic that made me think of unicorn frosting.

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Has anyone asked these people how their eyesight was today?

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Been wanting to for my entire life. It was visible on the street even with streetlights and houses and then we went to the Fells for a darker view. Lots of other people had the same idea.

I was surprised how quickly the faint color bands came and went.

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I was in a basement and missed it. But I fancy I felt it.
Maybe next time.

So glad it was seen by some even through the Boston light pollution.

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Had he not posted this story shortly after people started seeing the light, I would have gone to sleep assuming they weren't visible from within the city. I went outside right away and didn't see anything at first but keep looking and slowly they came into view. I would only see the dim red for a few minutes before it would fade away. The green was a harder to differentiate from light pollution.

It's definitely the case that the phone camera greatly enhanced what I was able to see directly.

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I got home from work and told my husband that I was going to chase this. I didn't want to drive more than an hour away and I wanted to be back by midnight. We headed out around 8:45.

Arriving in Rockport, we noped away from the hoards ditching cars on the road and walking toward Halibut Point. We looped back down 127 past the Lobster Pool, which was parked up, then noticed a little parking lot off the edge with just enough space for the subie. Folly Cove.

We eased in without blocking anyone/anything. Then noticed people down a short steep path below us. We brought flashlights, and discovered that it was a beach facing NNE - or close to magnetic North. Folly Cove.

At first it was eh - someone told us that there were some reds if we looked SW. We took a couple of pics. The wind was ripping out of the N and some surf was pounding. I had dug out my puffer coat, gloves, a hat, knowing it would be chilly. People left as they got too cold, retreating to cars for a bit.

I noticed a couple of very thin shafts of light to the north. I photographed them and it was definitely on. An arc of light formed to the NE over the inlet. I saw a shooting star while I had the shutter open and got a nice green glow with a streak where a space rock ended its billion-years journey in the atmosphere.

Then it got lit. Very very lit. As in naked eye detection of blues, magentas and greens made vivid by my cell phone camera. Dancing shafts and curtains of light punctuated by Orion and a cast for far away suns. Brilliant colors reflected in the surf. It was like a magical otherworld and I started choking up like I did during the eclipse. The sky exploded in pulsing, surging, vivid colors in the photos - with very visible stars.

Returning home as it ebbed, we were treated to frequent views of a dramatic and elegant half moon, popping in and out of view, resplendent and orange.

This was on my bucket list, too. It has been well over 50 years since I saw an aurora anything close to like this, when I lived at higher latitudes. I still may just randomly hop a direct WestJet to Calgary if it happens again so I can get the full nearer-arctic experience.

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I wasn't impressed with it; we're near Bellevue Hill and I was able to see a cloud, but not much else as the trees obstructed it. I suppose if I walked down to West Roxbury Parkway or gone to Millennium Park (or even went to Bellevue Hill) it would have been much more exciting.

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really fun at a party

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Party on.

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Light pollution and trees blocked my way, so the aurora wasn't as spectacular or as impressive as having the aurora right over me, with no interference and ample opportunity to take good pictures.

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Feel bad that I missed it.
Anybody know tonight's forecast?

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