AURORAS Tonight! Severe Geomagnetic Storm in Progress!

[Robert D. Robot]

For anyone interested, the Planetary K Index (a scale from 0 to 9) jumped up to 8 (indicating a severe geomagnetic storm!) last night and has been bouncing around between 7 & 8 ever since. Any folks enjoying clear skies in higher latitudes tonight should be on the outlook for auroras! There is a good chance the storm MAY last for several more hours.

I saw some great displays here in Anchorage, AK last night, and I know they were seen in parts of the Lower 48, too; I am hoping the storm stays strong into our upcoming nighttime here.

Check out the great spaceweather.com site for more detailed info! And be sure to check out their Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery.

Best Wishes to you all for clear skies and good hunting!

http://www.spaceweather.com

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, saw them that night while driving home from an astronomy-themed event. They were quite spectacular! Brilliant green spires dancing around. Sadly, didn't have my camera with me, otherwise we probably would have stopped for some pictures. I have a friend who did manage to get some though!

 

[Robert D. Robot]

^ I am glad that you were able to see them, Owain Taggart! From what I can see on the spaceweather.com website, you folks in Northern Ontario have a good seat for auroras on a regular basis. Anchorage seems to be right on the edge of the 'zone' and often cloudy. Folks further north in Fairbanks seems to have awesome views on a regular basis, though.

I have a good, but rather inexpensive camera without any options for changing exposure time. I should probably consider a better camera and see what I can capture in photographs.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, we do, actually. But for me, this was actually my first instance at being able to see them with the naked eye. They were such a strong appearance! Our backyard is not great for viewing them; too many lights, but ironically enough the best view I got was while we were on the road.

But I've photographed them in the past, including a time when I photographed them by mistake, not realizing they were even there until it appeared on my screen, as I was already photographing the sky. That was quiite amazing as it was a fluke.

You should be good to go with that camera as long as you can go 15-30secs at 6400 ISO. If your camera can't do 6400, then 3200 does work, but I personally like 6400 better for it as it brings the colours out more.

Here's one of mine I've taken in the past: 15sec, 6400
ISO

 

[Robert D. Robot]

Excellent photo! Thanks for sharing your work!

I went out last night, hoping to catch the tail end of this recent flare-up, but there were (at least to the naked eye) "only" faint whitish patches appearing here & there, never coalescing into any strong arcs or spires. I ended up talking with 3 other fellows who were out there with their cameras and tripods. Thank you for your pointers on camera settings. Between what you have said and hearing their discussions, I am now better to try my hand at some photography.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, don't be intimidated. Best thing to do is just go for it and try things. Besides, with a digital camera, you're not going to waste anything Well, other than time and patience

I'm rather surprised at the luck you've been getting. I've heard all the time how Alaska is supposed to be one of the best places to view Auroras.

One of the best feelings I get is seeing the results on the screen. Cameras have much higher sensitivity than our eyes and can catch things much more easily, and more vividly, so while your eyes might not be getting much, you might be nicely surprised by what your camera ends up capturing.