After years of seeking the Aurora borealis across northern latitudes and a less than impressive viewing in Colorado last May, my wife and I enjoyed a spectacular display in central Missouri last evening. Having learned that the Aurora would be especially active for the next few days, we headed up to the flat Glaciated Plain of the Midwest, about 25 miles northeast of Columbia, to escape the city lights.
Finding a secluded spot in the open cropland, we parked along a graveled road. The sky was clear though the half-moon produced a mild haze. About an hour after sunset, a dome of faint light, resembling a bank of clouds, stretched across the northern horizon and we began to dread a repeat of our Colorado experience. Then, after another half-hour of anticipation, curtains of green and broad plumes of red appeared in the sky (photo by Darcy Folzenlogen).
We enjoyed the spectacle for another hour before heading home. Our long pursuit of the Northern Lights had finally been successful, not in the wilds of the Great North but in the Heartland of America where we have spent most of our lives.
