White Satin

The “White Satin” Experience

A bright orb of a full moon illuminates satiny white snow blanketing the Kenai Mountains in Southcentral Alaska as multi- colored auroras make music above Portage Lake on November 7, 2017 at 3:33 am.

“Cold-hearted orb that rules the night, removes the colors from our sight, red is gray and yellow white, but we decide which is right… and which is an illusion.”

These are my all-time favorite lyrics from the classic Moody Blues song, Nights In White Satin. Their CD, Days of Future Passed, went around a few times on this aurora hunt. The music set the mood for an astounding evening filled with spectacular auroras that spread their wings overhead all night long. I couldn’t think of a better place to view such a spectacle than in this moonlit, glacier-sculpted valley.

When the stars align and clear earth weather coincides with active space weather everything appears to sing. This night was like living in a dream it felt so perfectly orchestrated and this particular splash of magenta light lasted only a precious few minutes, a brief interlude, but was the highlight of the night due to its rarity.

To be fair & honest, the aurora showed up extra bright on this camera exposure but that was enough to help me decide it was right… and not an illusion. “Cold-hearted orb that rules the night, removes the colors from our sight, red is gray and yellow white, but we decide which is right…and which is an illusion.”