Last night I saw several notifications on social media that a display of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) was under way, and that most of Ireland was covered by cloud so most people would miss it. I saw that the stars were visible, so brought my camera to Newgrange to watch for the display.
It was a beautifully mild night, with just a very gentle breeze. I spent about an hour and a half on the road at Síd in Broga (Newgrange), taking photographs regularly. There was indeed a display of Northern Lights, but it was very tame. In some of my photographs there is a faint green band on the horizon, and that was just about as good as it got! No columns or pillars of light, and no colours other than green.
Despite the lack of intensity of the display, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Newgrange. It was such a calm, peaceful night, and in all the time I was there just one car passed on the road.
There was some cloud, but the stars shone with a brilliant intensity. Jupiter was looking very bright in Pisces and later, red Mars appeared between the horns of Taurus.
I see the hedge still has not been trimmed at Newgrange. Perhaps the OPW is just going to let it grow wild...
For previous (and better) displays of Northern Lights at Newgrange, see this photo, and this photo.
