May 20-23 Earth was within a CHHSS that disturbed the magnetosphere. On May 23 there was a weak CME but headed straight for us. It appears that the magnetosphere had been “cracked” enough for this to cause an amazing show!
I spent the 1st 4 hours of the day gawking at the best aurora show I’ve ever seen. The moon had set, but cloud cover was intermittent and less than favorable. From midnight onward, there was a corona, and around 1:30 AM I submitted my first Aurorasaurus report. It especially picked up in activity around 2:30 AM. For most of the night, the arc was relatively quiet, although bright. At a few points, it broke up into a band with rays, which others have likened to a “picket fence.” The aurora became really active around 3 AM, and for the 1st time, I was able to see the purple at the lowest altitude edge of the curtain! The bottom edge was like a folded ribbon during the peak of the sub-storm!