AntarcticDoctor

The leap day brought with it one unexpected but wonderful gift – the Southern Lights. Even thought there is still a glow of sunlight on the horizon, it is now dark enough to see a few bright stars, and just before midnight the cry went up – aurora! Morgan, our resident scientist working on the space weather programme, had made the sighting. Like excited children we ran for the roof hatch in whatever clothing we could grab, charged up the ladder and tumbled onto the rooftop viewing area into the -17°C night air. Above, thin whisps of emerald green appeared against the blue-black sky for mere seconds before fading away again, almost fooling the eye into thinking they were imagined. We watched greedily as we huddled together against the icy breeze, until the last tendril was gone, and only shivering remained. Shivering, and the joy of a shared dream – witnessing the Aurora Australis.