Equinox aurora
I’m not a superstitious person, or overly religious, but the longer I live the more I begin to believe in serendipity. Today is auspicious for many reasons – it is Good Friday to Christians, falling this year on South Africa’s Human Rights Day, and it is particularly special to us in Antarctica as it is the autumn equinox – a milestone in our year on the ice.  This equinox coincides with a beautiful full moon, and we have been further blessed by open skies and no wind. Imagine out joy, then when the final gift arrived – a lovely aurora. This one formed several bands over the south-eastern horizon, and was remarkably active, with rapidly shifting green veils. At times, a red hue was visible in the lower reaches. The full moon certainly prevented us from seeing the full splendour of the aurora, but it highlighted the landscape – while the base basked in the cool light of the moon, we watched the glowing southern lights over our familiar southern peaks… serendipity indeed.
