13 December 2006
The aurora flowed like a great river;
an inverted Yukon meandering across the sky.
Time lapsed. Banks eroded. The brilliant green
river changed its course.
Then drought hit, and the powerful flow was reduced
to a faint puddle, a dim shimmer.
The sky was quiet.
With an explosion, the aurora returned as a wall of thunderheads.
Imposing. Inspiring. Pulsing.
The lower layer of the wall of light was magenta.
The aurora’s lightning.
Thin lines of green light dropped down from the glowing storm.
Like sheets of rain falling on the distant hills.
Photo courtesy of the Daily News-Miner