I am looking for first hand descriptions of the Aurora Borealis?

Question

where did you see them, what time of year, how long did it last, what colors where involved?

Answer 1

I saw them in New Zealand, South Island, East Coast, high in the mountains.   I was at approximately 300-350 meters near a 2000+  meter mountain up a deep valley on a crisp, but pleasant  autumn night [heading into a not far off winter].  It was about 8 years ago now, so the exact time in autumn escapes me now.

I remember how freaky it was as we were not expecting to see it!  This occurrence is not common it that area, just an occasional thing you see if the conditions are just right in certain places around the world.  

It lasted for quite some time, funny how the memory of it now seems like it lasted for hours, but it may have only been 45 minutes to an hour at the most as we walked through the star filled night.

The ones we saw were of [only] bright red hues stretching across the valley, like wide gaseous ribbons floating in waves on the wind.  

Where the Auroa's colour seemed to be more dense within the ribbon, the lighter the red became, to look almost like white strands running through the peaks of the waves with the shimmering reds wistfully draping from them towards the earth [like a curtain of that chiffon material that is see-through].

Very, very spectacular and awesome to view.

My friends and I are so lucky!!!

Answer 2

I live at latitude 47degN. They can appear at anytime of the year (of course only at night.) On what dates depends on what the sun is doing. When they first appear in the northern sky, be careful by noticing that you might be looking at lights from the city. They can fool you. Away from the city area, they look shimmering, streaking, glowing greens reds and pinks. Sometimes they take on the appearance of curtains of light, folding in and out. I've seen them last all night. I've seen them last less than one hour. Wintertime is best because the air is clearer and more stable. I'm not sure of how far toward the equator they are seen, but I know they are visible at times in the southern US.

Answer 3

I am a professional nature photographer, live in North Pole, Alaska, and do allot of aurora photography.

Not only do I have thousands of photos of the aurora borealis on my hard drive - all the dates, exact times and durations can be extrapolated from exif data encoced into each photo.

You can see some of my aurora shots at www.northpolegallery.com and free feel to email me if I can be of any help!