Hey, everyone! As promised, I have chosen to have a Weekend of Nothing, and so that’s exactly what I did. However, other things have been going on throughout the week. The highlight was experiencing another geomagnetic storm, the third strongest this solar cycle. Yahoo!
Aurora: Take Two
After writing last week’s blog post, I decided to go check out the aurora again. I was a little bummed because the activity had significantly weakened by the time I’d gone to see it. Of course, that happens sometimes. I have seen the aurora a number of times at this point and more often than not, it’s just a soft glow along the horizon. I’m always happy to see some beams, though!
I bundled up and went back to my spot at the edge of Queenstown Gardens. I was thrilled to see activity had picked up. There were some soft beams shining from behind Mount Cecil. For the first time ever, I got a glimpse of STEVE – which is a Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement. It usually is ahead of the aurora and while it isn’t QUITE the aurora, it is somewhat related. It looks like a very tall stripe in the sky. It wasn’t very strong by the time I’d gone out. Later on, I learned that as soon as it was dark enough outside, the STEVE was insanely bright and visible from the horizon all the way up to the moon. It had dimmed down by the time I was witnessing it. Alas.
I watched beams fade in and out of view. There was a soft, diffused glow off to the south. While it wasn’t the best show I’d ever seen, I was happy to at least be seeing it. It was certainly better than I’d seen in a number of months. Although, it would be pretty difficult to top May’s solar storm.
I decided I was going to set an alarm for 3am and see if the aurora got any stronger. After observing for maybe an hour, I went back to the hostel to wind down for the evening.
Aurora: Grand Finale
When my alarm went off at 3am, I was in no way prepared to go outside. As I often do when there is chance of strong solar activity, I looked at my phone and checked the Glendale aurora app to see what the figures were looking like. Pretty damn good! I then pulled up the Queenstown Livecam, which would give me a good indication of whether the aurora was looking strong or not. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done this – setting an alarm to wake up in the middle of the night to check these resources, only to immediately go back to bed because it wasn’t strong enough.
And yet, this night was different. It looked VERY strong. So I pulled on a few layers of clothes and walked to the edge of town. The moment I was away from the town lights, I could see “the lady” was putting on a decent display.
The only time I’d ever seen pulsing was back in December, my first proper display here in Queenstown. Back then, I had never seen a pulsing before. I had heard of it, but I always thought it was the same thing as the curtains of light drifting through the sky like curtains in the wind. I didn’t expect to see what looked like a shockwave vibrating throughout the sky.
So when I saw the pulsing again as soon as I’d reached the water’s edge, I was delighted. I hurriedly made my way to a darker spot and then sat along the beach.
Beams shot up in the sky here and there, drifting along. There was a consistent arc that ran just above the horizon, over the mountains. In the images, this is the green arc near the bottom.
The pulsating came and went. Sometimes, it would ripple through the sky over and over and other times, it would disappear for a while. That is the nature of the aurora.
The different forms of it ease in and out of view. There will be a bright beam, lighting up like a spotlight. It might drift to the left or to the right for a while, and then it will fade out, making room for another bright beam somewhere else. At certain times, there are bright beams shooting up everywhere. I really love the beams haha.
(Please note that I actually tried to delete a lot of pictures before posting here LOL. I just can’t help myself – they’re all so beautiful!!! And also – a lot of these images are clusters taken one after another, so you can kind of get an idea of the movement of the beams/arcs across the sky.)
After some time, activity waned and I wasn’t really seeing any beams for a while. I sat patiently, hoping it would return. My patience paid off.
A while later, activity kicked up again and there were more beams, more pulsing. Some of the beams were getting incredibly bright.
It seems that each aurora has something unique to offer. The brightness, the movement, and the forms are always different. There is never really one aurora that is exactly like another. I think that is another reason why I adore them so. They are all captivating in their own ways, but especially the stronger ones.
This aurora was special to me for a number of reasons.
It was active basically from sundown to the following sunrise and I witnessed it in three different phases throughout the night.
It had LOTS of clear beams that were quite consistent throughout the evening but especially from 3 – 5.30am.
It had the incredible pulsating, which is impossible to be photographed.
It showcased some well-defined forms along the arc, which sometimes just looks like a glow-y blob to the naked eye.
It would have moments where even the aurora arc lit up incredibly brightly.
I was able to observe it for hours and have it be entertaining the whole time. In December, there were lots of periods of inactivity, where all I was seeing was the diffused arc above the horizon for a long time. In May, while it was incredible, it was very short lived because clouds came and took over. This was the first time where I was able to observe it for hours throughout the night (starting at 7pm, finishing at 5.30am the next day, three different observation periods).
The arc split off into multiple sub-arcs, swirling around in different, newly-formed paths.
Eventually, I started to get quite cold. It is still winter in Queenstown and while the wind had died down compared to earlier in the evening, my fingers and toes were freezing.
I figured sunrise was coming soon enough anyway and it was time to call it a night. I took one last photograph and then went to pack up. Just then, activity really kicked off. Beams all over the place. I didn’t know where to look. From the west to the east, beams all over. And some really cool swirling.
I stayed for a while longer, watching it.
Then, knowing I was going to be exhausted at work, I started to make my way back. I stopped a few more times and snapped pictures. The beams were going strong. I wish I could have stayed out longer.
Of course, you all know how much I love the aurora. I just love, love, love it. Just because I’ve seen it once, five, twenty times, it doesn’t mean I am satisfied. Because there could always be a better one, a stronger one, a more colorful one.
Later, I learned this was the third strongest solar storm in the solar cycle – the other two were the one in May and one from April 2023. Funnily enough, I had witnessed the beginning of the April storm in Tasmania, but it wasn’t until 5am where it really kicked off and the aurora was such a bright red, people thought it was sunrise. Unfortunately, I was asleep for that bit. (That was upsetting lol but you never know when the aurora will be at it’s strongest.)
Nights like this reaffirm my decision to move to Queenstown. Of course, people up in Wellington and Auckland were able to see the aurora during the strong solar storms, too, but Queenstown is different. I have seen it down here more than I ever probably will get to again in life. Although… maybe not. One thing I have decided is that I would love to go up to Fairbanks, Alaska to work at a hotel for a winter season. (And hey, now I have hotel experience!) Fairbanks is directly under the auroral oval and so in the winter season, they get auroras every night. Of course, the strength varies. There is definitely a difference between seeing the lights up there versus down here. We are still pretty far away from the auroral oval, so when we see the aurora, it is still technically from a far distance. At times, all we’re seeing is the very top of the aurora (the beams). Places like Fairbanks are right under the auroral oval, so the intensity is stronger and the aurora is often viewed directly overhead. I was surprisingly lucky enough to witness the aurora overhead (the “corona”) back in May, but I hope to see one again in the future. (Also, there is a dude who lives in Fairbanks and regularly photographs/films the auroras there. To get an idea… check out his website. AMAZING!)
I was really hoping to see the aurora one more time before leaving Queenstown. I’m glad I was able to witness another strong storm. Although, May 11th will always have a special place in my heart since that is the first and only time I’ve seen color in the aurora.
What a night!
Miscellaneous
One fun fact is that one of the legs on my $9 tripod had actually snapped a few days back. On the morning before the aurora, without knowing the aurora was definitely going to be out, I asked one of the maintenance guys at work if he had some super glue. I was able to get it fixed… JUST IN TIME!
(Pictured above: random slug, a Brat napkin at staff lunch, and pic my parents sent of Gizmo and his beloved kiwi.)
During the week, while on a break at work and walking to a picnic table, I stopped in my tracks. On a tree in front of me, there was a bright pink flower. And other flowers, too. In the grass, a small, white flower. Spring is coming – and soon. What a delight it is to see! I am ready for warmer weather.
On Friday night, I went to Spotlight Brewery with some peeps from the hostel. Lau and Juanito were playing guitar and singing songs at the open mic, so lots of us went out to support them. I hung out with Nittsy, Katy, and Martin for a while. Later, Yvonne came. She, Nick, and I were chatting for some time. We spent a good half hour talking about the Philippines – Yvonne gave me lots of cool recommendations. She also showed me a lot of great food I’ll have to try when I’m there. I certainly will!
Art of the Week
I drew this one for Emily – the lady who got one of my drawings tattooed. I was so honored she got a tattoo of my work, that I asked her what her favorite flower was, favorite planet, favorite bird, etc. Her answers resulted in the above image. It is available to purchase on my RedBubble site. The link is on the side bar!
Reflections
What to reflect on?
Well, I’m so glad I’ve had this weekend to myself. It was 1,000% needed. Maybe 1,000,000% needed. I didn’t do much except sleep in, exercise, eat food, and watch movies. I can’t remember the last time that I literally did nothing at all. Amazing!
Now that it’s getting closer to me leaving, it’s starting to feel a little strange. While I do feel ready, it is odd to think that it is just about three weeks until I leave this incredible town. All the people I’ve met, all the things I’ve seen, the experiences I’ve had. It has been amazing. But that’s life, right? Vienen y se van. Yo necesito ir tambien.
There is so much to look forward to. Two months living in my van, driving around this country where everywhere you look, there’s something beautiful to see. Great hikes, birdlife, views. The brand new experience of sleeping in my van all the time haha. That will be interesting. I have a little camper stove that I got when I was buying a tent/sleeping bag from someone. It seemed intimidating at first and I didn’t think I would use it but… I’m definitely going to use it. I figure I will stay at a hostel once a week so I can have a proper shower, do laundry, and write my blogs. Otherwise, it’ll be cold showers or washing down with a rag (ew lol) or going for a dip in the water. I think what’s to come is going to be pretty unforgettable. I guess I’m a little nervous about it. I’ve never really done something like this before. It’ll be good, though.
I’m undecided on what to do next week. It’s either one final Milford Sound tour or going to the Catlins for the weekend. Whichever I don’t do this weekend, I’ll be doing the following. I’m trying to base it off the weather. Jasper will be joining me for both those activities which is nice. He is back on Tuesday.
So… all good things. Life is good.
Until next time – sending you all my love. xx
