Late Dusk Drapery

A wide-angle view of truly late dusk glory: an extensive drapery of phase III aurora taken at 10:40pm (MDT), June 12, 1991 - less than two months before the birth of the internet (and before Grandfather died). The rays reach up just over Polaris (star in top right of the picture), and as they are sunlit at their altitude (150km), they selectively reflect light in the violet/purple wavelength. Capella and the stars of Perseus reside "under" the grand display. A small strip of foreground with ground clutter was left in the picture for scale.