Though Mum still felt a bit nervous and held on to her partner’s hand as the plane took off, by the time it levelled out and started heading North, she’d settled down and felt okay, ready to enjoy the flight.
Sir Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott were also flying with them, explaining what they were likely to see on the journey which would take them to an area between the Shetlands and the Faeroes where there’d be no light pollution from below to spoil their view.
They were also told that, because of the special nature of their flight, it had been given permission not only to put out all but essential lights in the cabin, but also to fly much higher than commercial flights did so they would get a better view of the stars – and of the Northern Lights (also called the Aurora Borealis) themselves if they put in an appearance that night, which of course wasn’t guaranteed.
If Mum remembers rightly, the plane then made its way up to 51,000 feet, which is 9.6 miles or 15.5 kilometres, and around 13,000 feet (2.5 miles/4 kilometres) above the height at which most planes travel.
And, once it had levelled out again, the passengers were invited to go through to the cockpit a few at a time and see the view the pilot had. This was too good an opportunity for Mum to miss, especially as they’d been told that they could see the curve of the earth from that altitude. Even though she was still a bit wary, she took her turn – and once her eyes adjusted to what she was looking at, she realised that the dark and distant horizon was actually slightly curved…
At that height, they were also flying above the lowest part of Earth’s atmosphere, known as the troposphere, which goes up to somewhere between 5 miles/8 km and 9 miles/14.5 km, depending on how near to the poles or the equator it is.
This meant that the stars no longer appeared to twinkle, but just gave off a bright and steady light. And, even more surprisingly, they weren’t just silvery-white as they seem when seen from the ground, but shone in different shades of blue, white, yellow, orange and red, with the blue ones being the hottest and the red ones being the coldest.
And, away from the lights of all our towns and cities, there were thousands and thousands of them – making Mum realise just what they’d lost to pollution in built-up areas in times she could remember.
Then, to her delight, she spotted Orion the Hunter, her favourite of all the constellations. Including the blue supergiant Rigel and the red supergiant Betelgeuse, and with his belt made up of three blue stars, he’s easily recognisable in the skies of northern hemisphere from autumn through to spring. But at the height they were flying, she could also see his sword hanging from his belt, his bow raised in his left hand and even his little dog, trotting along faithfully by his right foot – things she can no longer see even on the clearest nights from the village where we live.
But of course the highlight of the night was going to be the Northern Lights – and at last there was a faint sighting of them away in the distance. As the plane headed towards them, Sir Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott explained that, once they got a bit closer, the pilot would fly in two large figures-of-eight to give everyone on board an equal chance of seeing them – and, as the Northern Lights can vary in their intensity as the night goes on, it would give everyone the chance to see them at their best for that night.
Unfortunately on that occasion the best of the activity was much further to the north, but they did see the Aurora as thin, mostly silvery-grey, transparent curtains which moved around almost like liquid but let the light of the stars shine through.
It was totally mesmerising – and especially so when a few streaks of pale green appeared among the silver-grey. In fact Mum told me later that she was enjoying it so much that she could have stayed up there all night.
But after an hour it was time to go back to Leeds. The cabin lights were switched on again and the plane descended to the usual flight level. Then the cabin staff came round with the promised “light refreshments” – a carton of orange juice, a bag of crisps, a piece of cake and a cup of tea.
Then all too soon they were back on the ground and making their way to the car park. But Mum had done it. Though she’d been a bit wary, she’d got on the plane and not panicked, so maybe – just maybe – she’d be able to do it again!
That’s all for now, so take care, stay safe – and look out for some more tales from me soon!
Follow my next blog: 206. MY MUM THE STORY-TELLER – PART NINETY
16/06/2022
Wilf the bear-faced blogger 