July 19/20th 04.04 BST. I went back home and set up the 8.5" F/7 dobsonian reflector and a range of medium and high power eyepieces in the hope of observing the recent comet impact scar on the south polar region of Jupiter however I couldn't see it due to the poor seeing although I could see the circular black shadow of Io on the Jovian cloud tops which was amazing. I took my eye away from the eyepiece, looked back at the NLCs, and got a shock. They had now covered almost the entire sky and far into the S as a type 4.5 - 5 brightness display. The view was unbelievable with bands, waves, whirls, veil, lacunosus holes, and some Alien structures I had never seen before. I immediately went back out to a nearby field and began taking images and video where the only noise was from a passing Bat and the water within a stream in the field which felt magical. It was almost dawn and the sky was extremely bright yet the display looked bold and aggressive far into the S like an NLC invasion. It was just awesome. The above image is 28mm looking NE to E with the NLCs visible behind the Trop cloud. The NLCs extended out of frame through the entire frame on all sides, and across the entire sky overhead so a single image doesn't do it justice, although the video clip helps to imagine it better. This was one of those displays in which you really had to be there to appreciate how incredible it was. This was the last 'big one' of the season for me.
