The northern lights, or northern lights, were on full display thanks to solar flares a few days earlier. “It was incredible – the greens, the purples. Sometimes it would dip horizontally, sometimes it would go very high, vertically in the air. It was magical,” said Alison Carter, who watched them around 10.30pm on Sunday from Lake Davidson in Nopiming. Provincial Park. “We just sat there and watched it dance and said how lucky and grateful we are to have this opportunity to see them.” A few I liked from this morning. My old Sony does a fair job of capturing this. Also, I’m still impressed by how well the phone does (4th photo in this set). pic.twitter.com/EpAgbe7JsD —@MikePrattPhotos Carter had a chance to see the lights on Churchill before, but it wasn’t peak season for the aurora, which only danced for 10-15 minutes before they faded, she said. “This was really much more spectacular than what I saw at Churchill. The whole western sky was completely lit up.” It was the first time I saw the lights for the Carters’ two daughters, ages 12 and 15, however. Alison Carter says the entire western sky was lit up by the northern lights around Noping Provincial Park on Sunday night. (Submitted by Alison Carter) “They were so excited. They always talked about wanting to go see them one day, and they always associated them with Churchill,” Carter said. “So they were so lucky to get to see them out here.” The show went on for half an hour with no signs of letting up before Carter decided to pack up and go inside so her kids could go to sleep. Photographer Michael Pratt stopped to capture the lights next to Lockport. (Submitted by Michael Pratt) The chance of seeing the lights is available online through the Aurora Forecast, based on a scale of one – the lowest chance – to 10. On Sunday, the forecast was a nine with significant aurora activity. On Wednesday, the sun sent out a wave of charged particles that reached Earth over the weekend, interacting with the magnetic field and projecting the light. More snapshots from yesterday pic.twitter.com/LkvdsDvPGZ —@SecondNatureMB The sun goes through an 11-year cycle where activity waxes and wanes. Currently, it is in a period of intense activity. “Mother Nature sure put on a show tonight,” photographer Diane Hammerling posted above one of her images on Twitter. If the aurora forecast is correct, the show looks set to go off the stage for a while — at least in the south of the province. The score for Monday is a six, meaning weather permitting, good displays could be visible directly overhead in most northern communities. Mother Nature sure put on a show tonight. pic.twitter.com/z6zoeDM6Xa —@bbphoto_ca
