My Desktop Photo 97

Photo by Andrew Stark
(click on photo for larger view)

My Desktop Photo 96

Photo by Andrew Stark
(click on photo for larger view)

Last night youngest son dragged me out of bed at 2AM to see a spectacular show of northern lights. We stood on the upper deck and watched as the quick-dancing, shooting sort of aurora, with large swaths of violet along with the more usual green, covered the whole sky. It was like watching a silent fire works show. We forgot where we were and what time it was and oohed and awed loud enough to wake the neighbor dog who woke the neighbor just in time to see the tail end of the show.

I remember once when I was a teenager, my friends and I lay on the grass of a baseball field on a hot Minnesota summer night, looking up at a sky full of red northern lights. That show and last night’s would be the top two of my life so far.

All this is to explain why I’m posting this photo my son took a few years ago even though it’s not the right shape for a desktop photo and I think I’ve posted it before. If you have complaints, leave them in the comments.

Update on Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 12:01AM by rebecca

I guess I should explain that no northern lights look quite like this photo. They are very difficult to photograph, and they are never as large or brilliant in real life as they look in this photo, which was done with a very slow shutter speed—maybe even time lapse. Still, they are very cool. You really should come see them.

My Desktop Photo 95

Photo by Andrew Stark
(click on photo for larger view)