For the first time since we have had the lighthouse I experienced something up to now I had only heard everyone talk about.  The Aurora Borealis are supposed to appear in winter but we had a cold clear night two nights ago and there they were. 

My newest book, The Last Lighthouse, was about to go off to the printer so I had to go down to the fish hatchery about four miles away to fax back the last corrections on the text.  It was fortunate since I probably would have been curled up in front of the Rayburn watching TV otherwise.  The lights were just starting to show as I returned, Having had a long and stressful day with all the last minute details on the book I went right to bed.

Something woke me at 1:00 am and I looked out the window and the sky was full of shimmering green lights.  The colour is hard to describe but it looked like a pale iridescent jade with light streaming through.   The light was alive and constantly moving and changing.  The streaks went up and down not across like clouds do.  They would sometimes be bright and then gradually fade.  Once and awhile they would move across the sky.  It was spectacular as the sky was black with hundreds of bright white stars.

Add to that the rotation every thirteen seconds of the lighthouse beacon and you have a night full of lights and movement.  It was so alive and beautiful you could almost feel the majesty of the universe pulsing in the cold clear air. 

Sharma

You can find more articles in the archive under Island Miniatures/Lighthouse Letters.

If you are interested in a video with Sharma and Eshaness Lighthouse on it you can a good one here.

You can find more articles about lighthouses in the archive under Lighthouse Beacons From Scotland.

Book Signing If you order from this web site I will sign my new book for children, Moonbeam Cow, and "Scotland - The Complete Guide and Road Atlas", a beautiful book for which I did the text.