When The Northern Lights Came To Us

Readers Share Their Photos, Experiences

Area residents were able to witness the Northern Lights over the weekend, during a rare instance of the aurora borealis being visible from lower latitudes of the United States.

“This was the first time seeing the Northern Lights,” said Kathy Mayo, who photographed the lights from Ross Road in Lexington Friday night. She was one of many area residents who posted their photos of the nighttime display on The News-Gazette’s Facebook page this week.

“It was always on my bucket list; seeing it was a truly magical experience,” Mayo said. “The sky was constantly changing! It was mesmerizing!”

Donna Lee Barraclough shared her experience photographing the lights.

“I was getting ready to go to bed, and I looked on Facebook, and a Virginia group page that I follow had posted a picture of the northern lights from Natural Bridge. I thought, we’re just north of there, I wonder if we’ll be able to see anything?” she said.

“I went outside – just looking, it was hard to see. It seemed sort of misty, and you could see something moving around. My family was asleep, so I went to take a few pictures, to show them what they missed, and that’s when the colors really popped.”

Melissa Fix Ayers also shared her experience photographing the lights, from Turnpike Road’s intersections with Collierstown Road and Pearl Ridge Road.

“My husband, Kenny Ayers, was with me and neither of us had seen the Northern Lights in person,” she told the News-Gazette. “It was a memorable experience for the two of us to share.”

For Barraclough and many others, witnessing the lights was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“I grew up on a farm in New Jersey, and my father had would tell me, as a little girl, that he had seen the Northern Lights from the farm, so it’s always been something that’s fascinated me,” she said.

“My son actually took a trip to Norway, in the Arctic Circle, specifically to see the lights, and I thought – I’m going to have to do that someday,” said Barraclough. “I probably still will, but it’s neat that they came to me this time — I really appreciate it.”

Heather Higgins, who photographed the lights from her home on Jacktown Road, agreed.

“It was the first time and something I was able to check off my bucket list,” she said.