A bright arc that appeared very green to the naked eye sprouts amazing red rays of aurora at 9:25 p.m. (CDT) this evening seen from Duluth, Minn. No re-touching was done to the photo. The rays’ color was too faint to see with the eye, but the camera’s time exposure recorded them well. Photo: Bob King
The aurora’s back! Nothing at 9:15 p.m. but at 9:20 p.m. (CDT) a big green arc suddenly lit the north. I thought it was moonrise but the glow was far too sudden. Ten minutes later multiple arcs of emerald-hued light punctuated by several tall faint rays covered more than half the northern sky. If you’ve got clear skies and a good view to the north, take a look right now. Let’s hope they last. Happy aurora hunting!
Layered green arcs and a few faint rays show about five minutes after the top photo was taken. Details: 17mm lens at f/2.8, ISO 800 and 25-second exposure. Photo: Bob King
UPDATE 10:05 p.m. — Good lord! As quickly as they arrived, the northern lights have vanished. I searched with the camera a few minutes ago and there was nothing to be seen. Moonlight’s back but not strong. FYI – the Kp index shot up to “6″ at 10 p.m. That translates to a moderate storm with auroras visible into New York and Idaho. Anyone else see this? Time to head back outside.
The satellite map showing the extent of the aurora oval at 9:39 p.m. (CDT). Its edge grazes northern Minnesota.
Bob, thanks for the heads up, but it looks like we’re out of luck down here in Colorado. Being 6 degrees closer to the equator has some advantages, especially in winter, but seeing aurora isn’t one of them. I’m right at the edge of the bluish part of that map, indicating an intensity of 0.0 on the color scale.
Congrats on all your sightings of late – and great pictures!
Bet you’ll need lots of coffee in the morning.
Richard,
Always appreciate your commentary on the blog. I’m taking a break right now watching Jay Leno’s “Headlines”. I so enjoy them being in the news business and all. I had just set up the telescope at 9:15 p.m. to make a few variable star estimates. First was SS Cygni followed by RX And. It was when I looked up from RX And that the aurora was suddenly there. I’m headed back out again in case it’s back. Hopefully it’ll cross into your visibility zone.
Astro Bob has become one of my regular “go to” sites, along with Spaceweather and some earth weather sites. I like the way you post events – like auroras – before they’re over and are old news! You really have an eye on the sky!
Tonight I was out playing with exposures of the Milky Way with a 16mm fisheye before the moon came up. Didn’t see any aurora, but got the entire Milky Way from below Sagittarius through Cygnus and past Cepheus. Love those wide angle lenses!
Thanks Richard. The digital era has made it a pleasure to shoot beautiful photos of the Milky Way like what you described.
I have always assumed that tbe Aurora’s are active duriing daylight hours too.
My assumption is based upon AM Radio interference that is similar to nighttime interference when I know the Aurora is active.
Would you comment?
Hi Brian,
Yes, aurora is active during the daylight since the auroral oval is a permanent feature, however activity is lower than nighttime hours particularly around local noon. When you refer to AM interference, are you talking the shortwave bands or AM as in AM car radio? Most of the static heard on AM is from distant lightning. I have not heard that aurora produces interference on the standard AM listening band. It does produce very low frequency waves that can be picked up in a VLF radio, and it also causes fadeouts in the shortwave bands.
Good day Bob!
Would you please tell what camera you used in the aurora photos this week?
Any tips on getting great photos of them? Mine seem to have a lot of noise in them.
Thanks for sharing!
Take care.
Mike
Hi Mike,
I used a Canon EOS-1 Mark III. The higher end camera you use the less noise – but you knew that.
Nice! Was not sure if you had a 5d or something else. Perk of the job? :^>
Mike,
Yes, I use my work camera to shoot the astro stuff.
Thanks for your confirming response.
I recall in days gone by, when AM radio was all we listened to, that Northern Lights seemed to be associated with interference.
It was not static, it was sort of a low pitched squeal. It reminded me of the interference that the early generation tv’s caused or the ignition system of certain cars of the 1950′s also caused interference.
The interference sounded a little like shortwave too.
Anyway, I assumed it was an Aurora.
Fadeouts would also describe part of the interference, like speaking on the phone during an international call was at one time.
Brian,
It would be an interesting experiment for readers to try during the next big aurora – tune into AM radio and check for unusual interference. I’ve listened to northern lights with a portable VLF receiver and the sounds are similar to a frog or bird chorus – very eerie.