Noctilucent Clouds
With a clear sky outside, and the twilight finally fading I immediately noticed distinct NLCs in the northwest and knew it was going to be something special. This was definitely a display worth seeing and so, despite just having returned from the pub, I grabbed my camera, tripod and a few layers of clothing and rushed outside to reach farmland and a clear northern horizon as quickly as possible. The first couple of fields I tried weren't a success as there was the distinctive sound of large animals close by - an unnerving sound in the dark - but I soon found a stile leading to a nicely deserted field where I was able to set up my camera and capture the glorious sight of this, the brightest display I've personally witnessed so far in 2007.
As can be seen on the following panorama the display was extensive with the most interesting region low in the north to the east of the bright star Capella. Here whirls of bright white and electric blue cloud had been spun across the sky and, as I later walked back down the road to home, these had developed into a bright arc of material which, as the sun moved eastward to begin a new day, were being illuminated lower and lower in the sky.
It was an incredible night, made more so because of the appalling weather we have had recently.
