Parmi les phénomènes naturels que j'ai toujours eu envie de voir, il y a les aurores boréales. J'ai beau habiter dans un pays nordique, je suis dans le sud où ces beautés ne se montrent pas très souvent. On annonce une ou deux fois par ans des orages magnétiques qui pourraient être visibles jusqu'à Helsinki, mais il faut beaucoup de chance pour voir une aurore boréale : il faut qu'elles aient lieu la nuit, mais pas trop tard, car la nuit on dort ; il faut que ce soit l'hiver, pour que la nuit soit suffisamment sombre, mais il faut qu'il ne fasse pas trop froid, pour qu'on puisse rester dehors à les admirer ; il faut que le ciel soit dégagé ; et puis il faut être dehors au bon endroit et au bon moment.
Par un petit miracle, non seulement ces conditions ont été réunies mardi soir, mais ce fut à une occasion où le phénomène était particulièrement intense. Quand j'ai appris sur les réseaux sociaux que des amis en avaient vues dans la soirée, j'ai traîné Mr Ours dehors pour une petite promenade le nez en l'air... sans succès. Je suis quand même ressortie une heure plus tard, et j'ai vu quelque chose de bizarre dans le ciel, des nuages clairs de formes très allongées ; je n'étais pas sûre qu'il s'agissait de ça jusqu'à ce qu'un voisin me le confirme. Après ça j'ai passé plusieurs heures dehors, dans le jardin, et les aurores sont devenues au fil du temps de plus en plus marquées, de plus en plus colorées (vert surtout) et de plus en plus impressionnantes, situées juste au-dessus de ma tête.
Je me suis toujours demandée à quoi ressemblait une aurore boréale en vrai. J'ai vu beaucoup de photos, mais je n'avais jamais vu que des vidéos en accéléré (vu la faible luminosité, il faut une caméra très sophistiquée pour pouvoir filmer une aurore boréale en temps réel). Je me demandais si elles bougeaient vite ou lentement, si elles volaient ou tombaient, si c'était vraiment aussi intense que sur les images... Et j'ai enfin ma réponse : c'est merveilleux, tout simplement. Dans le noir du ciel, ça ressemble à des nuages allongés et lumineux qui changent de forme, apparaissent et disparaissent sans cesse, comme des voiles poussés par un vent léger. Le mouvement est parfois lent, parfois rapide, apparemment plus l'aurore est visible et plus elle bouge rapidement. En plus de ça, comme je me trouvais juste en-dessous de l'aurore, par moment j'avais l'impression que du ciel quelqu'un me saupoudrait de particules lumineuses, très rapidement, comme un jette du sel dans l'eau des pâtes... C'est vraiment incroyable et difficile à décrire.
Malgré le froid (les températures étaient légèrement négatives), j'ai passé plusieurs heures dehors, ne rentrant que pour me réchauffer un peu et aller chercher l'appareil photo. J'étais totalement éblouie et émue, et je le suis encore. C'était la toute première fois que je voyais une aurore boréale ; jamais je n'aurais imaginé qu'une nuit, je serais assise sur ma terrasse à regarder le ciel me saupoudrer de poussière d'étoile.
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| Cliquer sur la photo pour voir l'album / Click on the pic to see the whole album |
Northern Lights are among the natural phenomena that I have always wanted to see. I'm living in a Nordic country but in the south where these beauties are rare sights. A couple of times a year, magnetic storms with the potential to be
visible all the way Helsinki are announced, but one needs much luck to actually see a Northern
Light here: they must take place at night, but not too late otherwise you'll be in bed; it must be winter for the night to be dark enough, but it must not too cold, or one won't be able to stay outside and admire the sight; the sky must be clear; and one must be out in the right place at the right time.
By a small miracle, not only were these conditions met last Tuesday night, but it was on a day when the phenomenon was particularly intense. When I learned on social networks that friends had seen Northern lights during the evening, I dragged Mr Bear out for a "nose-in-the-air" walk... without success. I still went out again an hour later, and then I saw something strange in the sky, light clouds with very elongated shapes; I was not sure it was what I hoped it would be until a neighbor confirmed it. After that I spent several hours outside in the garden, while the Northern lights became more visible, more colorful (green especially) and more and more impressive over time. They were located just above my head.
I always wondered what it was like to see a Northern light in real life. I saw a lot of pictures, but I had only seen time-lapse videos (given the low light, a very sophisticated video camera is necessary to record an aurora in real time). I wondered if they were moving quickly or slowly, if they were flying or falling, if it really was as intense as it seemed on the pictures... And I finally got my answer: it's simply wonderful. In the darkness of the sky, it looks like elongated clouds of light that change shape, appear and disappear constantly, like sails pushed by a light wind. The movement is sometimes slow, sometimes fast, apparently when the aurora is brighter moves at a quicker pace. On top of that, as I was standing right beneath the lights, at times I felt like someone sprinkled the sky bright particles in very fast movements, like throwing salt in pasta cooking water... It's really incredible and difficult to describe.
Despite the cold (temperatures were slightly negative), I spent several hours outside, returning only to warm up a bit and fetch the camera. I was completely dazzled and excited, and I still am. It was the first time I saw an aurora; I never imagined that one night I would be sitting on my deck watching the sky while I was being I sprinkled with stardust.
By a small miracle, not only were these conditions met last Tuesday night, but it was on a day when the phenomenon was particularly intense. When I learned on social networks that friends had seen Northern lights during the evening, I dragged Mr Bear out for a "nose-in-the-air" walk... without success. I still went out again an hour later, and then I saw something strange in the sky, light clouds with very elongated shapes; I was not sure it was what I hoped it would be until a neighbor confirmed it. After that I spent several hours outside in the garden, while the Northern lights became more visible, more colorful (green especially) and more and more impressive over time. They were located just above my head.
I always wondered what it was like to see a Northern light in real life. I saw a lot of pictures, but I had only seen time-lapse videos (given the low light, a very sophisticated video camera is necessary to record an aurora in real time). I wondered if they were moving quickly or slowly, if they were flying or falling, if it really was as intense as it seemed on the pictures... And I finally got my answer: it's simply wonderful. In the darkness of the sky, it looks like elongated clouds of light that change shape, appear and disappear constantly, like sails pushed by a light wind. The movement is sometimes slow, sometimes fast, apparently when the aurora is brighter moves at a quicker pace. On top of that, as I was standing right beneath the lights, at times I felt like someone sprinkled the sky bright particles in very fast movements, like throwing salt in pasta cooking water... It's really incredible and difficult to describe.
Despite the cold (temperatures were slightly negative), I spent several hours outside, returning only to warm up a bit and fetch the camera. I was completely dazzled and excited, and I still am. It was the first time I saw an aurora; I never imagined that one night I would be sitting on my deck watching the sky while I was being I sprinkled with stardust.
Cette vidéo a été filmée bien plus au nord et par conséquent l'aurore est plus intense que celle que j'ai vue, mais ça ressemblait assez bien à ça (merci Matthieu pour le lien).
This was recorded much more North and the lights are rather brighter than the ones I saw, but it looked pretty much like this.
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