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I went out chasing aurora Monday evening Jan 19, 2026. I had high expectations because of an ongoing geomagnetic storm. I arrived at a viewing area near Oilville, VA soon after sunset. With clear skies and Kp index of close to 9, I had high hopes of seeing some decent aurora. There was a dull reddish glow visible on camera to my north when I arrived at 6:22 PM and it persisted until approximately 7:56 PM. It varied in intensity and could rarely just be seen by my eyes. Unfortunately no decent columns, pillars or other structure. Interestingly, the camera picked up a slightly bluish glow. Unfortunately, the Bz remained north during the whole period. A Bz of south is needed for decent aurora. Such a waste of a good solar storm. By 9:30 PM, clouds were moving in, and I decided to head home. Overall, not too impressed though the blue glow was interesting. The Bz switched to the south just before dawn and aurora was visible; however, I was asleep.
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Just wow and totally unexpected!! I had an hour to spare after dropping one of my kids off at an activity. I noticed that the Kp had increased to 7 and the Bz was to the south. Maybe, I might see an on camera glow to the north. I drove out to Oilville, VA (Goochland County) and arrived at 6:30 PM. There was a small area of redness to the north visible only on cell phone. Within 5 minutes, the aurora became easily visible to my eyes with towering translucent columns against a reddish glow. They shifted and brightened. By 6:45, the aurora had decreased to a dull red glow. I shifted positions just into Hanover County. At 6:54 PM, there was a faint red glow and barely visible columns on camera. There was no evidence of aurora by 7:11 PM. With a decrease in Kp, I left to due the activity pick up. This was an intense though brief substorm that was timed perfectly for my observation period. A nice consolation prize after the previous evening when I stood out in the cold for hours watching faint red airglow and later missing the best show just before sunrise.
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