The warning of a huge impending geomagnetic storm reached me several hours before it got dark on September 23rd, but if the forecasts held, it was to be a spectacular show, with auroras raging for the next 24 hours, even down to northern Africa, where auroras are seen perhaps once per century. In the evening, I drove up to my regular observing site and waited. Soon enough, the northern sky was alight with an eerie neon red glow. It was the first aurora I witnessed from a really dark sky, and it was amazing. No photo can truly show what was visible to the naked eye, namely the rapid movement of structures within the auroral curtain, beams of light brightening and dimming back down again.
Unfortunately, it only lasted about 15 minutes before it died down almost completely and stayed that way for the rest of the night. The forecasts were wrong, but I didn't mind. It was certainly worth seeing this incredible show.
