Last night was the peak of a solar coronal mass ejection (CME) which was expected to intensify the aurora borealis so it could be visible as far south as Montana and Minnesota. Having never seen the Northern Lights before, I was excited at the prospect. It’s been cloudy for a few days, but yesterday was quite clear so it seemed like good viewing conditions.
I went out around 7pm when it was pretty dark, but couldn’t really see anything. Again at 11pm; still nothing. Then I got out of bed at 1:30am and peered out the window. There was a distinctive green glow on the northern horizon!
Unfortunately Kalispell is also to the north, so the city lights kind of spoiled the horizon. But now I can say I’ve seen the Northern Lights… well, kind of a greenish Northern Glow, anyway.