Night 1 - 9/14-15 - amazing kp index - up to 6.33!! The pictures and videos others posted online were amazing and I was so jealous because I was completely socked in under a very heavy cloud cover. When it was still early (midnight), I thought I could just wait it out. But around 4am, I tried to drive away 10 minutes to hopefully a less cloudy spot. It was not to be. No amazing light show for me. This is a sample view of what I saw:
Night 2 - 9/15-16 - we were in Þórsmörk at the Volcano Huts so there was no driving to another location. I tried walking around but no stars (too many clouds).
Night 3 - 9/16-17 - still in Þórsmörk at the Volcano Huts - still lots of clouds. I had given up hope. However, when I got up around 3am to go to the bathroom (yes it's in a nearby building) I happened to see some light peeking through and more stars than I had seen all week. I did a test shot with my phone and YES, northern lights!!
View from our tent towards the central tent
Night 4 - 9/17-18 - we were in Kirkjubæjarklaustur and the skies were super clear - not a cloud in the sky. The kp wasn't so high - just a 2. I looked outside briefly before going to bed around 10pm and didn't see anything. However, when I woke up around 3am and checked online, people were posting beautiful lights from midnight, and I missed it! kp was only around 2.33 then. At 3, it was less than 2. However, I could see the arc that people described to the north and headed outside with my gear.
It was a beautiful backdrop to the north with a few trees and hills. I had never seen this phenomenon before. North lights going across the sky in an arc like an aurora rainbow. I stayed an hour to watch it flicker and move across the sky.
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