Video: Northern lights put on a spectacular show for Whatcom County sky-watchers
Residents across Western Washington reveled in another spectacular display of the northern lights Thursday night, the result of a massive burst of radiation from the sun.
Starting around 9:30 p.m., bands of color began to shimmer and weave across the northern skies as seen from Bellingham and Whatcom County.
Posts on social media showed hundreds of photos and video as the lights grew more intense and enveloped half the sky around 10 p.m.
Sky-watchers gathered in Bellingham neighborhoods where the faint greens and reds were visible despite the city lights and a quarter moon, observers told The Bellingham Herald.
Dozens gathered at the Sudden Valley marina on Lake Whatcom, where darkened skies offered a magnificent view.
Randy Small of Lynden, who manages the Whatcom County Weather page on Facebook, asked followers to post their images at his site.
“What a night!” he wrote online.
Many viewers found that their cameras and smartphones showed the aurora more brightly than they could see with the eyes.
“Remember seeing photos a camera takes in more light than our eyes. A camera can pick up the aurora while your eyes don’t see it,” the National Weather Service in Seattle tweeted Thursday.
This story was originally published October 11, 2024 at 10:54 AM.
