Aurora.

"An unusually strong solar storm hitting Earth produced stunning displays of color in the skies across the Northern Hemisphere… "

"Whoa!" K exclaimed after walking out onto our balcony this past Friday night. Clear skies and a coronal mass ejection traveling at speeds up to three million miles an hour, bunching up in waves, brought us face to face with the most incredible display of the Aurora Borealis either of us had ever seen. It was the mythical G5, the highest level on the geomagnetic storm scale. One that hasn't been seen since 2003.

The eerie and calming waves of light literally covered the entire sky. K brought out a mat, blanket, and pillow and lied down on our balcony, in awe. I ran up the hill for a slightly less-obstructed view. The display of the Northern Lights really was incredible. There isn't any better way of putting it.

And then something strange happened. Neither of us knew what it was. K noticed the light was focusing its energy directly above us. We'd later learn what we were seeing was a corona Aurora Borealis.

"Coronas are doubtless the result of perception rather than representing a distinct type of aurora. When some forms of aurora such as rays or rayed bands move overhead of an observer's location, the perspective of looking directly upwards causes them to converge to a point to form a crown or "corona." The corona is widely considered to be the most impressive type of aurora, and they occur during strong overhead activity associated with the most spectacular aurora displays. They are often fast-moving and relatively brief in nature, but occasionally the corona can remain for longer periods. To the eye, the converging tall rays are often bright green and regularly contain pinks and purples depending on intensity."

Yes, looking up into what seemed like the eye of the Aurora was mesmerizing. The corona came and went for probably an hour. 

K took a timelapse. I switched to capture some video footage. Watching the movement of the light replay over and over is hypnotic. Truly a memorable night spent lying on our balcony while all the while clouds of charged particles and magnetic fields danced silently and effortlessly overhead.