PDA

View Full Version : Aurora! (The Northern Lights)


Chris
21-01-2005, 20:56
Did anybody else just see this:

http://homepage.mac.com/towny/aurora.jpg

This is the first time I've ever seen the Northern Lights, and here they are on my doorstep, not half an hour ago.

I guess you will have to have been in the northern half of the UK to have stood a chance, and probably in Scotland.

The picture was taken with my 4mpixel Minolta Dimage, in case any camera buffs are interested - manual setting, 15 seconds exposure, f4.6 - and balanced on an iron railing, seeing as my tripod is still packed somewhere!

Raistlin
21-01-2005, 20:59
Fantastic!!

You were lucky indeed to have seen this rare and beautiful sight.

Nice picture too.

Tezcatlipoca
21-01-2005, 20:59
When I saw the thread title, I thought you were on about this (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4190771.stm), lol.


As for the Northern Lights...never seen them, but they are something I would like to see sometime.

Dumpty
21-01-2005, 21:01
Great pic Chris T :tu:

You were indeed very lucky to witness such a brilliant sight.

dilli-theclaw
21-01-2005, 21:02
You just better hope you don't wake up blind in the morning ;)

No I've never seen anything like this down here :) sure looks nice tho.

homealone
21-01-2005, 21:02
I can only imagine your thoughts on seeing that, Chris - how absolutely awesome :cool:

- thanks for sharing :tu:

Chris
21-01-2005, 21:03
When I saw the thread title, I thought you were on about this (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4190771.stm), lol.


As for the Northern Lights...never seen them, but they are something I would like to see sometime.

Wups ... good point, thread title edited ... :D

altis
21-01-2005, 21:05
Pretty good at Eskdalemuir too:

http://www.met-office.gov.uk/weather/europe/uk/webcam/eskdalemuir/index.html

Chris
21-01-2005, 21:12
Pretty good at Eskdalemuir too:

http://www.met-office.gov.uk/weather/europe/uk/webcam/eskdalemuir/index.html

well, I'm glad I wasn't imagining it! When I first saw it, it was all green and I took it for high cloud reflecting the very bright moonlight. Then, to my astonishment, patches of it started to turn deep red.

Here's a couple more piccies:

http://homepage.mac.com/towny/aurora2.jpg

http://homepage.mac.com/towny/aurora3.jpg

The frustrating thing is, by the time I got the camera sorted out, the display was well past its best. The long exposure has allowed the camera to 'see' a lot more than was visible to the naked eye at the time I took the pictures.

altis
21-01-2005, 21:36
Seems to be lime green at Aviemore:

http://www.met-office.gov.uk/weather/europe/uk/webcam/aviemore/index.html

0 degrees is due North. Shame about the cloud.

Halcyon
21-01-2005, 22:19
Those pictures are amazing.
You were really lucky to see such a lovely sight.
Its great you got it on camera too.

Chimaera
21-01-2005, 22:26
Yeah - thanks for taking the time to post the pics Chris - they are amazing. Another item to put on the 'list of things to see' list!

aliferste
21-01-2005, 23:34
WOW!!!

Where abouts were you?

AndrewJ
21-01-2005, 23:36
Cloudy here where I am may go Bacup's little observatory thing in the remote areas later...

danielf
21-01-2005, 23:44
Wow. That must have been amazing. Like they say, The best things in life are free :)

altis
21-01-2005, 23:51
Quick Chris, dash over to Eskdalemuir - NOW:

http://www.met-office.gov.uk/weather/europe/uk/webcam/eskdalemuir/index.html

Captured for posterity...

Nidge
22-01-2005, 10:04
Cracking pics mate, never seen them but I've heard of them, I wonder what they look like the further north you go??

marina
22-01-2005, 11:15
I was lucky enough to see nature's own light show about 5 years ago when i was in the yukon (northern canada)...... we were standing on a frozen lake getting fresh water from waterhole in the middle of the night when i noticed my host just standing looking up at the sky. I stopped what i was doing to see what he was looking at......... he'd been pointing out the names of constellations each night and i thought it would be much of the same but when i looked up it was much more beautiful than anything i could have imagined........


I didn't get any photos..... strangely enough it didn't occur to me :shrug: We just stood there transfixed...... like ice statues... highlighted and shadowed by the moonlight.

I won't ever forget the experience even without photos :) but then i did get back to england with three-way whiplash so i was hardly going to forget ANYTHING that happened on those 2 weeks ;) :D

Chris
22-01-2005, 11:43
WOW!!!

Where abouts were you?

At home, past Balmaha at Loch Lomond. You ought to have been able to see it from Glasgow, except possibly if the light pollution is too severe? Anyway, so you can see what you missed, here's my last lot of pictures.

The effect came and went during the evening, but even when there wasn't a spectacular rippling light show going on, the northern sky had an eerie pale emerald glow about it. It is the strangest thing I have ever seen, and one of the most beautiful.

http://homepage.mac.com/towny/aurora4.jpg
Download Failed (1)

I'm gutted about this one because I wobbled the camera, just as there was a brief, very bright burst of activity. I'm posting it anyway so you can see just how bright it got! Anyone know how to correct camera wobble in Photoshop? :D

http://homepage.mac.com/towny/aurora6.jpg

That's the lot! I've been notified by Apple that the .Mac service will be on and off over the weekend for maintenance, so don't worry if you see broken image links, they'll be back later. :)

altis
22-01-2005, 12:04
Wowee Chris - those are, erm... cosmic :D

I'm glad you saw it for real.

altis
23-01-2005, 18:27
Sounds like it was a big one!

http://www.satellites.co.uk/php-bin/forum/showthread.php?t=35327

homealone
23-01-2005, 18:33
Sounds like it was a big one!

http://www.satellites.co.uk/php-bin/forum/showthread.php?t=35327

thanks for that link - & the earlier ones to the Eskdalemuir webcam, that was a stunning sight :tu:

Earl of Bronze
23-01-2005, 19:13
I have had the luck to see them from inside the Artic Circle, while on Winter Warfare Exercise's in the army. Most nights it wasnt blowing a blizzard, then the Northern Lights where on show. A truely spectacular sight. :D

Charlie_Bubble
23-01-2005, 19:15
Saw the northern lights a few times when I was on holiday in Alaska in about 1997. Was also able to watch a comet going past the earth while on the plane on the way home. Was quite a famous one, but forget the name now.

altis
23-01-2005, 19:17
Hale-Bopp (Dude) ?