Since we are talking about Astronomy and uncommon occurances like the Northern Lights, I wondered how many of you had ever properly seen the rest of our Galaxy which passes over our heads every night but is obscured by light pollution.
Try the pics in this...
Northern Lights: Extraordinary display in the skies above YORKSHIRE | Mail Online
I wouldn't have said the aurora was uncommon, it's just that it only occurs at certain times of the year and is easier to see and more spectacular when certain solar and magnetic conditions coincide. Travel agents are certainly making a killing out of it at the moment.
What amused me was after we came back from a visit to the North Cape of Norway last summer, so many people asked us if we had seen the northern lights, despite the skies up there never going dark 24/7 thanks to the midnight sun!!