Auroras - Alberta and Saskatchewan
Post Sub-Storm Aurora v2 (Aug 8, 2022)
The Kp5 aurora of August 7-8, 2022 in its post sub-storm phase after an appearance of STEVE. The aurora was flickering and pulsating to the north and east at this time. A red pillar appeared for a while at right. At left are dim blue pillars. This is a single 13-second exposure with the Canon R6 and TTArtisan 21mm lens at f/2.8. Taken from home in southern Alberta.
Post Sub-Storm Aurora v1 (Aug 8, 2022)
The Kp5 aurora of August 7-8, 2022 in its post sub-storm phase after an appearance of STEVE. The aurora was flickering and pulsating to the north and east at this time. The patch at top was part of the pulsating effect, appearing briefly for this frame but not in the frame before or after. This is a single 13-second exposure with the Canon R6 and TTArtisan 21mm lens at f/2.8. Taken from home in southern Alberta.
Aurora over Wheatfield (Aug 7, 2022)
A display of a Kp-5 aurora near its peak of activity on August 7, 2022, taken from home in southern Alberta, over the wheatfield next to my acreage. STEVE appeared later this night. Moonlight from the waxing gibbous Moon low in the southwest illuminates the scene. The stars of Perseus are at centre. Capella is at lower left. Andromeda and Messier 31 are at upper right. Alas, no Perseid meteor appeared on cue for this image, though the meteor shower was underway. This is a single exposure with the Canon R5 at ISO 800, and Canon RF15-35mm lens at 23mm and f/2.8 for 8 seconds.
Auroral Arc over Wheatfield (Aug 7, 2022)
An arc of a Kp-5 aurora over a wheatfield from home in southern Alberta. The panorama takes in the northern stars, from the Big Dipper and Ursa Major at left, to the W of Cassiopeia at top right of centre, with Perseus below Cassiopeia, and Andromeda and Pegasus at right. Moonlight from the waxing gibbous Moon low in the southwest illuminates the scene. Jupiter is rising at far right low in the southeast. This was taken when the display was at its most active. An hour later as it was fading STEVE appeared in a fabulous show. This is a panorama of 7 segments with the Canon R5 at ISO 800, and Canon RF15-35mm lens at 18mm and f/2.8 for 25 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Auroral Arc and Noctilucent Clouds (Aug 7, 2022)
An arc of a Kp-5 aurora early in the evening just starting a show, but with a fading display of noctilucent clouds low in the north as well. An unusual combination to get them both, and this was the latest sighting of NLCs for me from my latitude of 51° N. Capella is low at centre, with the stars of Perseus above. Moonlight from the waxing gibbous Moon low in the southwest illuminates the scene. Taken from home in southern Alberta, Canada. This is a panorama of 9 segments with the Canon R5 at ISO 400, and Canon RF15-35mm lens at 35mm and f/2.8 for 25 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Kp5 Aurora Panorama from Home v2
A Kp 5 level aurora seen from home on July 22-23, 2022, amid clouds, but showing nice red and magenta pillars. This is a 3-section panorama with the TTArtisan 21mm lens at f/2.8 and Canon R6 at ISO 800, for 30 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
A Kp 5 level aurora seen from home on July 22-23, 2022, amid clouds, but showing nice magenta pillars. This is a 3-section panorama with the TTArtisan 21mm lens at f/2.8 and Canon R6 at ISO 800, for 30 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
A Kp 5 level aurora seen from home on July 22-23, 2022, amid clouds, but showing nice red and magenta pillars. This is a single image with the TTArtisan 21mm lens at f/2.8 and Canon R6 at ISO 800, for 30 seconds.
A subtle and pastel aurora borealis (Northern Lights) in the northeast, above a prairie meadow at "Lone Tree Hill". The foreground and sky are lit by a bright waxing gibbous Moon, a day before Full, shining in the south. This was just after midnight on July 11/12, 2022. The auroral curtains exhibit the usual green band and rays, though with shades of green visible, perhaps from hydrogen-beta proton emission as well as oxygen electron emission, but also upper altitude reds and purples and a faint blue tint at the very tops where the aurora is lit by the Sun. The aurora was never bright this night (Kp Index was 3 or 4 at best) and even this level of intensity lasted only a couple of minutes. The stars of Perseus and Andromeda are framed here in the northeast. This is a single untracked exposure of 20 seconds, with the RF28-70mm lens at 35mm and f/4, and with the Canon R5 at ISO 800. Taken from near home in southern Alberta, Canada, latitude 51° N. Wind this night kept the mosquitoes off but did blur the foreground flowers. A mild Orton effect added selectively to the scene with Luminar AI.
An arc of modest aurora borealis (Northern Lights) across the northern horizon, above a prairie meadow in the light of a bright waxing gibbous Moon, a day before Full. This was just after midnight on July 11/12, 2022 when the sky was also still lit by summer twilight colours, and with a weak display of noctilucent clouds also visible low in the northwest at left. The auroral curtains exhibit the usual green band and rays, but also upper altitude reds and purples and a faint blue tint at the very tops where the aurora is lit by the Sun. The aurora was never bright this night (Kp Index was 3 or 4 at best) and even this level of intensity lasted only a couple of minutes, just enough time to shoot the panorama segments. The stars of Perseus and Andromeda are at right rising in the northeast; some stars of Ursa Major are at left in the northwest. Capella in Auriga shines at centre almost due north. This is a panorama of 6 segments, each 20 seconds, with the RF28-70mm lens at 35mm and f/4, and with the Canon R5 at ISO 800. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw. Taken from near home in southern Alberta, Canada, latitude 51° N. Wind this night kept the mosquitoes off but did blur the foreground flowers. A mild Orton effect added to the entire scene with Luminar AI.
Aurora from Home Panorama (April 27, 2022)
A 150° panorama of the auroral arc across the northern sky, shot from home in Alberta on April 27, 2022. The camera picked up the blue colour at the top of the curtains at left in the northwest from high-altitude sunlight illuminating the tops of the curtains. Otherwise, oxygen reds and greens dominate this fairly quiet display. Coincidentally, the arc of the aurora nicely follows the arc of the Milky Way across the north, then at its lowest for the year in the spring sky. The winter stars Castor, Pollux and Capella are setting at left; Perseus and Cassiopeia are left of centre; Cygnus (with Deneb) is rising in the northeast right of centre; Vega in Lyra is at upper right, as the summer stars rise in the northeast. Some of the lights in the distance are from farmers in the area preparing the fields for the spring seeding. This is a stitch of 7 segments, each 30 seconds with the RF15-35mm lens at f/2.8 and 24mm, on the Canon EOS Ra at ISO 3200. The camera was on the Star Adventurer tracker, so these are all tracked, but the exposures are short enough that the ground is not blurred too badly, yet the stars are not trailed. Stitched in Camera Raw.
Aurora from Home (April 3, 2022)
A green and red aurora from home, April 3, 2022. A single shot with the TTArtisan 21mm lens at f/2 and Canon R6.
Light Pillar and Aurora Panorama
An unusual combination of an ice crystal light pillar, at left, with an aurora across the north with green, red and magenta curtains, April 1, 2022, from home in Alberta. This is a panorama of 5 segments with the TTArtisan 21mm lens at f/2 and Canon ROS R6 at ISO 1600 for 25 seconds each. Stitched with Photoshop and straightened with the Adaptive Wide Angle filter.
Aurora Panorama from Home (March 30, 2022)
The start of a Kp5 level display on March 30, 2022 which was widely seen this night. But clouds moved in to block the view from home. This is a panorama of 6 segments with the TTArtisan 21mm lens at f/2 and Canon R6 at ISO 1600 for 20 seconds each. Stitched with ACR.
Auroral Arc Panorama #2 (Nov 28, 2021)
A panorama of a dual-arc auroral oval across the north, shot from home about 8:30 pm MST on Nov. 28, 2021. The Kp got up to 4 this night. The Big Dipper is left of centre; Orion is rising at right. This is an 7-section panorama, each at 15s at ISO 3200 and f/2.8 with the TTArtisan 21mm lens and Canon R6. Stitched with ACR.
Auroral Arc Panorama #1 (Nov 28, 2021)
A panorama of a dual-arc auroral oval across the north, shot from home about 8:07 pm MST on Nov. 28, 2021. The Kp got up to 4 this night. The Big Dipper is left of centre; Orion is rising at right. This is an 11-section panorama, each at 15s at ISO 3200 and f/2.8 with the TTArtisan 21mm lens and Canon R6. Stitched with ACR.
All-Sky Aurora #3 — November 4, 2021
A sky-filling Kp7-level aurora on the morning of November 4, 2021, from home in southern Alberta. The aurora was pulsing and flaming upwards over most of the sky, while more normal curtains slowly moved across the north. For a few minutes, very prominent red-topped curtains formed and filled the northern sky and moved from west to east. This was just past their peak. Note the blue curtains to the east as they catch the sunlight at their high altitude pre-dawn. A little pink nitrogen fringe appears along the bottom of the bright curtains low in the north. This is a single 6s shot with the 7.5mm TTArtisan fish-eye lens at f/2 and the Canon R6 at ISO 3200. Taken at 5:06 am MDT.
All-Sky Aurora #2 — November 4, 2021
A sky-filling Kp7-level aurora on the morning of November 4, 2021, from home in southern Alberta. The aurora was pulsing and flaming upwards over most of the sky, while more normal curtains slowly moved across the north. For a few minutes, very prominent red-topped curtains formed and filled the northern sky and moved from west to east. This was at their peak. Note the blue curtains to the east as they catch the sunlight at their high altitude pre-dawn. This is a single 4s shot with the 7.5mm TTArtisan fish-eye lens at f/2 and the Canon R6 at ISO 6400. Taken at 4:57 am MDT.
All-Sky Aurora #1 — November 4, 2021
A sky-filling Kp7-level aurora on the morning of November 4, 2021, from home in southern Alberta. The aurora was pulsing and flaming upwards over most of the sky, while more normal curtains slowly moved across the north. A touch of blue is appearing in the east at right. This is a single 4s shot with the 7.5mm TTArtisan fish-eye lens at f/2 and the Canon R6 at ISO 6400. Taken at 4:52 am MDT.
Aurora Panorama from Home (Nov 3, 2021)
The early stages of a G3 solar storm and aurora show on Nov. 3/4, 2021, with the aurora as a bright glow across the north amid cloud reflecting light pollution. Orion is rising at right. Vega is setting at left. The Big Dipper is at centre. Capella is bright at upper right, to the left of the Pleiades. This is a stitch of 6 segments with the 15-35mm RF lens at 15mm on the Canon R6, each 30s at f/2.8 and ISO 1600. Stitched with ACR.
Aurora with Red Curtains (Oct 11, 2021)
The G2 auroral storm of October 11/12, 2021 with the curtains exhibiting red tops from high-altitude oxygen. This was from home in southern Alberta. This is with the TT Artisan circular 11mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2.8, on the Canon R6 at ISO 1600 for 15 seconds.
Aurora with Red Curtains - Fish-Eye (Oct 11, 2021)
The G2 auroral storm of October 11/12, 2021 with the curtains exhibiting red tops from high-altitude oxygen. This was from home in southern Alberta. This is with the TT Artisan circular 7.5mm fish-eye lens at f/2, on the Canon R6 at ISO 1600 for 13 seconds.
Aurora with Red SAR Arc and Blobs #2 (Oct 11, 2021)
The G2 auroral storm of October 11/12, 2021 looking south to a dim red arc (a SAR arc likely) that appeared for a few minutes associated with green blobs. This was from home in southern Alberta. The green areas were visible to the unaided eye but the red SAR arc was not; only the camera picked it up. This is with the TT Artisan circular 7.5mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2, on the Canon R6 at ISO 2000 for 13 seconds.
Aurora with Red SAR Arc and Blobs #1 (Oct 11, 2021)
The G2 auroral storm of October 11/12, 2021 looking south to a dim red arc (a SAR arc likely) that appeared for a few minutes associated with green blobs. This was from home in southern Alberta. The green areas were visible to the unaided eye but the red SAR arc was not; only the camera picked it up. This is with the TT Artisan circular 7.5mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2, on the Canon R6 at ISO 2000 for 13 seconds.