Carnation Valley Under Firelight: The Night the Sky Danced

Carnation Valley Under Firelight: The Night the Sky Danced

On the late evening of May 10, 2024, Carnation Valley became a celestial amphitheater. The northern lights—usually reserved for far northern latitudes—descended upon our quiet valley in a rare and spellbinding display. I was present, camera in hand, as the sky erupted in waves of ethereal movement. What unfolded overhead was not just beautiful—it was historic.

The Storm That Lit the Sky

This was no ordinary aurora. The spectacle was ignited by a G5-class geomagnetic storm—the most intense in over two decades*. The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center had issued an Extreme Geomagnetic Storm Watch, a rarity last witnessed in 2003**. 

The reason?

 A succession of Earth-directed coronal mass ejections—massive eruptions of solar plasma and magnetic fields—launched from the Sun days before.

When these CMEs collided with Earth’s magnetosphere, they compressed it and sent charged particles streaming toward the poles. 

These particles excited atmospheric gases, producing the aurora borealis. The KP index—a measure of geomagnetic activity—reached 8, which is an extraordinarily high level. That’s why the lights reached as far south as California and, remarkably, Carnation Valley.

Capturing the Unseen

As I stood beneath the sky, the aurora shimmered in ghostly whites and faint grays. But through my camera’s lens, the view burst with color—vivid greens, purples, and even crimson flares. 

Why the difference?

Human Vision at Night: Our eyes rely on rod cells in low light, which are sensitive to brightness but not color. That’s why we often perceive auroras as pale or white.

Camera Sensors: Modern digital sensors are significantly more sensitive to light and color than the human eye. They can capture the full spectrum emitted by excited oxygen and nitrogen atoms—green from oxygen at lower altitudes, red from oxygen higher up, and purples from nitrogen.

So while we saw a soft, ghostly ballet, the camera revealed the full choreography in technicolor.

A Night to Remember

This wasn’t just a visual event—it was a moment of connection between Earth and Sun, between science and wonder. Carnation Valley, usually cloaked in quiet, became a stage for one of nature’s most dramatic performances. And through the lens, I was lucky enough to preserve it.

If you missed it, don’t worry—solar cycle 25 is still ramping up. There may be more nights like this ahead. But May 10, 2024, will always be the night the valley glowed.

© Chris LeBoutillier

“Photographs are silent; one’s thoughts give them life.” ™ -Chris LeBoutillier

*Historic Geomagnetic Storm Dazzles
**Solar Flares And Northern Lights: What To Know | Weather.com