September 2005 Auroras

T

Tim_axe

Gawd
Joined
Dec 12, 2003
Messages
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Well the aurora season has jump started itself this weekend. Aurora Borealis was seen as far down as Arizona on Saturday.


Unfortunately I decided to go to sleep and missed out. So I tried to make up for it Sunday. Sunday was weak in my area (Moscow, Idaho) so I only managed to get these. Settings really quick were:

Canon Digital Rebel (300d)
18-55mm lens @ 18mm, f/3.5
ISO 800, 4 minute 30 second exposure time


photos_img_05095887.jpg



photos_img_05095890.jpg





Feel free to post your Aurora pictures. I'm hoping to go out again after work tonight because the conditions look to be better than last night...



Some Linkage to keep you informed about some of the conditions out in space:
 
Wow, the first pic is absolutely stunning. Nice job. I don't have any Aurora pictures being from Socal and all :(! Please feel free to post up some more.
 
Doh! :eek:

I just killed the 40GB HDD that had the only copy of the original files (laptop HDD in a PD70X, it dropped 2.5ft after my belt came undone and the HDD is dead (won't spin up) -- I'm using a 4GB HDD in the PD70X for now). Now I only have the converted TIFFs for about 4 photos, and those are at school and I won't be able to get them for a while :(


Anyone know if a Samsung 40GB Laptop HDD can be revived if it refuses to spin-up? I don't have a laptop avaliable, only a PD70X (which is a high-speed CF card copier / PC USB Mass Storage Device)... I'm *so* lucky I didn't format my CF card with today's photo assignment from the newspaper on it...man I'm stressed out & tired from lack of sleep...
 
SpaceWeather.com updated today with:

AURORA ALERT!
  • A coronal mass ejection (CME) is racing toward Earth and it could spark a severe geomagnetic storm when it arrives--perhaps tonight (Sept. 14th and 15th). People everywhere should be alert for auroras.
  • If this incoming CME does hit Earth's magnetic field as hard as forecasters expect, auroras could appear in places where they are seldom seen: California, Arizona, Texas and elsewhere. Stay tuned for updates.

So pack up your wide angle lenses, tripod, a heavy coat, and prepare to wait around near midnight for some pictures. (30 second exposure, ISO 800 should get you started) Be sure to check the links in the first post to get the latest on the estimated Kp-index, and be sure to stop by SpaceWeather.com :)
 
Tim_axe said:
SpaceWeather.com updated today with:

AURORA ALERT!
  • A coronal mass ejection (CME) is racing toward Earth and it could spark a severe geomagnetic storm when it arrives--perhaps tonight (Sept. 14th and 15th). People everywhere should be alert for auroras.
  • If this incoming CME does hit Earth's magnetic field as hard as forecasters expect, auroras could appear in places where they are seldom seen: California, Arizona, Texas and elsewhere. Stay tuned for updates.

So pack up your wide angle lenses, tripod, a heavy coat, and prepare to wait around near midnight for some pictures. (30 second exposure, ISO 800 should get you started) Be sure to check the links in the first post to get the latest on the estimated Kp-index, and be sure to stop by SpaceWeather.com :)
Click to expand...


Sweet! Hopefully we get it here. I have never seen an Aurora Borealis ever and have been intrigued by it for so long. I really hope we get to see it here....

Let me get this straight:
1. use a wideangle lens - covered.... I have the Tamron 11-18mm Di
2. 30 sec. exposure - or I can use Bulb too right, gives me a reason to use my RC-1 :D!
3. Do I have to use ISO 800? Would it be noisy? Because I really dislike noise :(!
4. Use a Tripod of course
5. Anything else I should know... Any tips?
 
Nice shots, Tim_axe, and thanks for the link to SpaceWeather. I got some shots a while back, but it seems like I keep missing the alerts when auroral activity is expected (even though I try to keep on top of these sorts of things!). I'll head out of town tonight and see if there's anything to be seen. My weather widget is telling me to expect clear skies. :cool:
 
I'm not sure when it will arrive. Right now all of the charts show a low Kp-Index of about 2-3, and I haven't seen anything yet either. So for now I'm staying inside where I won't freeze.

If the different Kp-lists show nothing by 12:00PM, I'm going to sleep and wake up at 4:00AM to see if I catch anything. It might be that this one starts early in the morning.


Edit: Oh, it was mentioned @ FM that those weird rings in the center of your Aurora shots are known as "Newton's Rings". It is an interferrance pattern that happens when light is reflected by the UV filter or lens elements and results in positive and negative interferance to make the light and dark spots, respectively. It is very visible with a monochromatic light source, of which a solid green color is. Cheers :)
 
GF took these in Winnipeg, MB......taken with an S45 Canon digi cam that obviously needs a lense cleaning :p

oooooo.jpg


wow.jpg


hope ya like em, happened about 3-5 days back

soulsaver
 
soulsaver_8229 - It must be cool to be bright enough to see near houses. I haven't been that fortunately, but you have a nice picture there.


And the Aurora Borealis didn't happen tonight. I waited until 1AM, and then woke up again at 4AM (went back to sleep shortly afterwards), but saw nothing. :(


Update (on SpaceWeather.com):

WEAK IMPACT:
A mild geomagnetic storm is underway. It was triggered by the impact of a coronal mass ejection (CME) on Earth's magnetic field this morning. Many people were hoping for a bright display of auroras when the CME arrived, but the auroras failed to materialize. That's the bad news.

Now for the good news: giant sunspot 798 remains on the sun, facing Earth and popping off X-flares. More CMEs and auroras are possible in the days ahead.
 
Tim_axe, if you want some REAL Borealis pics you need to come up north... as in Soulsavers pic... we see them like that up here all the time...

QJ
 
QwertyJuan said:
Tim_axe, if you want some REAL Borealis pics you need to come up north... as in Soulsavers pic... we see them like that up here all the time...

QJ
Click to expand...
hehe my gf lives in canada, im in us :p i vist her a few times a year when im not working and she has time off of school.......she took those, but ive seen them in person and let me tell you somthing

nothing is better than being with the most beautiful woman in the world, under the most beautiful sky in the world.....i couldnt have asked for anything better than that......its an amazing site to see

she is in winnipeg, she says she has seen them purple/red/green before, very bright there......the ones i saw were green but hella bright.......my SD200 couldnt take pics of it.....man i need a better cam for stuff like that :(

soulsaver
 
I've seem them purple/blue before, for perhaps 2 or 3 hours straight... if you drive out of town where it's dark, and no houses, it's amazing.... I live in northern new brunswick....

QJ
 
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