Oct 14 - Your best aurora photos

Good morning !

If you have the day off for the holiday Monday, I hope you're able to enjoy it. First, though, enjoy these photos from fellow readers of last week's night lights.

— Cam

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌧 14 / 9 

Tomorrow: ☁️ 15 / 9

Wednesday: 🌧 12 / 5

NEWS

Your photos: Aurora arrives again

Northern lights were visible this past week, with some lucky locals seeing the night-sky display for a third time in the past half-year. We weren't alone in getting a glimpse: auroras were visible in Eastern Canada and as far south as Alabama and Texas. 

Some of the best local photos came in from reader Cecile Guillemot. In a gorgeous gallery of photos from PKOLS / Mt. Doug Beach, Guillemot describes the magic of people gathering peacefully together in awe at nature:

“So fun talking to people of all backgrounds and ages, sharing the joy of this fantastic experience. Positivity reigned under this super charged sky, wonderful memories of kinship in the dark.”

Why did we see the lights?

The sun is currently approaching the peak of its 11-year solar cycle, which comes next summer. At the peak, there are more solar storms. The increased activity at this near-peak time was especially pronounced in October, with NASA issuing 6 strong solar flare alert so far this month.

The strongest of those flares—and the biggest one recorded since 2017—was an X9.0 on Oct. 3. The burst from sunspot 3842 sent out an X-flare, South African geomagneticist Amoré Nel explained, which knocked out high-frequency radio comms across the continent that night. A coronal mass ejection (CME), made of charged particles (i.e plasma) and magnetic field, was also released but took several days longer to reach Earth.

When these charged particles hit the atmosphere last week, they energized the gases up there and light was emitted (primarily green for oxygen and red and blue for nitrogen).

The US-based NOAA and NASA will hold a briefing on the recent solar activity, and its effect on grids and comms, about a day from now.

Esquimalt group photographs once-in-80,000-year comet

The lights weren't the only space sights captured by local cameras in the past few days. An Oort Cloud comet (possibly visible until Nov.) was shot with long-exposure cameras on Sat. night in Highrock Park, CHEK reported.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

No advance voting today, due to holiday, but it resumes tomorrow. Find your nearest location here.

Ferries: Expect high volumes on long-weekend sailings. Off-peak and walk-on travel advised. 

Rain expected for most of week, except today & Thursday.

Boil Water Advisory on Salt Spring for part of the Highland-Fernwood water service area.

NEWS

Westshore roundup: West Coast Trail wraps season, local schools grow fastest in BC

The notoriously difficult backcountry trail closed for the season on Oct. 7, as it does every winter due to the typical heavy rains, winds, tides, waves, and darkness. Over the summer season (May-Sept.), up to 10,000 people attempt the 75km route from Port Renfrew to Bamfield—though every year a few hundred need to abandon it early due to injury or physical defeat, and many of them need to be evacuated.

All Trail hikers need permits, and even experienced ones can struggle with the 100+ ladders, calf-deep mud, and often worse-for-wear boardwalks. The trails are maintained—and plenty of the hikers are saved—by the Trail Guardians. They hail from the Pacheedaht, Ditidaht, and Huu-ay-aht nations, whose traditional territories Canada made into a park without consultation in the 1970s. 

More people coming through the lands has meant more emergencies (and more damage to infrastructure, vegetation, and sacred sites). So the guardians spend 7 months of the year hauling 30+kg of gear, maintaining the trail, and providing visitors with help and some of the cultural history of the region.

Read more about the trail at The Westshore and more about the guardians at Capital Daily.

As we covered at the start of the weekend, the Sooke School District (SD62) is growing fast. The fastest in BC in fact, at 4.3%—including 233 students more this fall than expected.

Growth is 7% in high school, and the two current secondaries are well over capacity. SD62 already has land and provincial approval for a new 2,000-seat North Langford Secondary—and, as of this summer, a middle school across from it—but still has to submit the formal business case and building specs. So an actual school remains years away.

Land is also secured for 3 new elementaries (not counting the Port Renfrew seismic rebuild or this fall's pre-fabricated expansions to David Cameron and Ruth King schools).

“Didn't they just recently build a bunch of Westshore elementary schools?” you might ask. They did—but those are now already full, or pre-filled for 2025.

For more on the present & future of SD62 schools, read the full story at The Westshore.

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⭐️ Capital Picks

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🗞️ In Other News

New polling suggests 10 of 15 Island ridings going to NDP—down from 2020's 12 of 14
Many ridings still look like comfortable NDP holds, but North Island along with two restructured east-Island ridings could flip to the BC Conservatives. Royal Roads prof David Black suggests vote-splitting could decide the four-way Ladysmith–Oceanside race. The Greens’ are now favoured to keep Saanich North & the Islands and possibly flip NDP stronghold Victoria–Beacon Hill to leader Sonia Furstenau. [Times Colonist]

12,367 racers (third-most ever) run in Royal Victoria Marathon events
Pearson College math teacher and former NCAA tennis player Zoe Hamel, 32, won the women’s race. Mining CFO Craig McMillan was #1 overall and the only person to finish under 2.5 hours. The honourary finish-line banner holder was Island Olympian Cam Levins, who shares a coach with Hamel and set the half-marathon record last year. [Times Colonist]

Speaking of running: UVic cross-country wins both men's & women’s Stewart Cup
In a preview of what they hope to do at the Oct. 26 championships, the Vikes beat all 9 other Canada West teams including reigning national champion UBC. The best finishes were Daniel Damian (M-4th) and a 5th-6th-7th sequence of finishes in the women's race from Elise Coates, then Erin Owens 10 seconds later, then Marisha Thompson 10 seconds after that. [Vikes]

🗓️ Things to do

🐐 Last day to see Beacon Hill Children’s Farm in 2024; winter closure starts tonight.

🦃 Thanksgiving Feast at James Bay Inn: Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, vegetables, and more. Lunch (11am-2pm) and dinner (4:30-9pm), while supplies last.

🎸 Bands!Bands!Bands! Vol. XIV The soon-to-close VEC hosts one last edition of the popular music series. Sets from Grade School (indie rock), Shark Bite Spite (synthetic folk), Bastian SRS (guitar—blues, rock, metal, Spanish) & Standard Issue Pleasure Model (glam-grunge). All ages. Tues 7:30-10:30pm. [Tickets]

📚 Victoria Book Prize Gala: This year's local literary winners will be revealed at Wednesday's all-are-welcome event at the Union Club on Gordon. [Tickets]

👀 In Case You Missed It

Correction: The name of winning photographer Shane Gross was misspelled yesterday as Shane Goss.

Sunday news: Island wildlife photo named world's best. Local football team heads to BC championship. Bomb threat at campaign office. [Oct 13]

Knife-throwing local barber comes within a hair of a win at int'l tourney. [Capital Daily]

Pacific FC beats York FC to gain a 3-point cushion in the race field the final playoff spot. Regular season ends this weekend.

Victoria Royals won 6-3 over Wenatchee on Sat.

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