I was reading recently about Tom Thomson the Canadian painter, who painted the Northern Lights a few times. Then on Sunday there was a nature show on TV showing images of them from the Yukon. I was thinking it must be amazing so see them and literally thinking about the lights all weekend.

Then I see a story saying they were visible from Ireland, there are pictures from Sligo which is nearby to where I live. I was outside at night but didn't notice anything. And the articles say, as has been noted here, that they were seen better on photos than with the named eye.

I don't get this? Whenever I take photos at night the photos generally pick up LESS of the various atmospheric effects in the sky than what my naked eye sees. Also, how do people know to take photos if the phenomenon if you can't see it with the naked eye?

The artist I was reading about always worked from life in the wilderness so I'm guessing you can see it. I'm so annoyed, it was like the universe was giving me signs about it and I was supposed to see it but I missed it.

Be handy if they could tell us ahead of time when it's going to happen. After the other night a bunch of websites showing the photos said it could happen again the next night but it was cloudy, as it almost always is in February in Ireland.