Auroras - STEVE Arc
Equinox Aurora in Twilight Panorama #3 Spherical (March 23, 2023)
A 360° fish-eye panorama of the great equinox aurora of March 23, 2023, with the aurora already bright as the sky darkened at twilight. The Kp values peaked at Kp7 this night. A purple arc stretches high across the sky, looking a little like a STEVE arc (but it isn't), with a green band below it to the south. The green arc has some of the features of a "dunes" aurora in that it shows horizontal streaks. This is looking east (at left) to south (at bottom), to west (at right toward the sunset twilight) and north (at top). The zenith is at centre where the rays of the puple arc converge. The crescent Moon and Venus shine above the bright twilight arch. Orion and the winter stars are below centre. Leo and the spring stars are rising over my house at left. The Big Dipper is at top left. Shot from the field across the road from home, in southern Alberta. This is a stitch of 16 segments each 10 seconds with the Venus Optics 15mm lens at f/4 on the Canon R6 at ISO 800. The camera was turned portrait for vertically oriented segments. Stitched with PTGui with spherical projection.
Equinox Aurora in Twilight Panorama #3 (March 23, 2023)
A 360° panorama of the great equinox aurora of March 23, 2023, with the aurora already bright as the sky darkened at twilight. The Kp values peaked at Kp7 this night. A purple arc stretches high across the sky, looking a little like a STEVE arc (but it isn't STEVE), with a green band below it. The green arc has some of the features of a "dunes" aurora in that it shows horizontal streaks. This is looking east (at left) to south (at centre), to west (right of centre toward the sunset twilight) and north (at either end). The zenith is at top where the rays of the puple arc converge. The crescent Moon and Venus shine above the bright twilight arch. Orion and the winter stars are at centre. Leo and the spring stars are rising over my house at left. The Big Dipper is at far left, distorted by the panorama projection. Shot from the field across the road from home, in southern Alberta. This is a stitch of 16 segments each 10 seconds with the Venus Optics 15mm lens at f/4 on the Canon R6 at ISO 800. The camera was turned portrait for vertically oriented segments. Stitched with PTGui with equirectangular projection.
Aurora with Dunes Structures (March 23, 2023)
The aurora of March 23, 2023, caught early in the evening when there was a green arc to the south as the sky darkened that exhibited a "dunes" type of structure, with horizontal banding rather than vertical rays or curtains. Above is a purple arct that has some characteristics of a STEVE arc but is likely a standard vertical curtain. At right are Venus and the crescent Moon below, above the glow of twilight. Orion is left of centre, with Sirius embedded in the dunes arc. This is looking southwest to west. The time was about 9 pm MDT. This is a panorama made of a stitch of 6 segments, each 10 seconds at ISO 800 with the Venus Optics 15mm lens at f/4 and Canon R6, turned to portrait orientation. Stitched with PTGui.
Equinox Aurora in Twilight Panorama #2 Spherical (March 23, 2023)
A 360° fish-eye panorama of the great equinox aurora of March 23, 2023, with the aurora already bright as the sky darkened at twilight. The Kp values peaked at Kp7 this night. A purple arc stretches high across the sky, looking a little like a STEVE arc, with a green band below it to the south. The green arc has some of the features of a "dunes" aurora in that it shows horizontal streaks. This is looking east (at left) to south (at bottom), to west (at right toward the sunset twilight) and north (at top). The zenith is at centre where the rays of the puple arc converge. The crescent Moon and Venus shine above the bright twilight arch. Orion and the winter stars are below centre. Leo and the spring stars are rising over my house at left. The Big Dipper is at top left beside an odd isolated ray of aurora. Shot from the field across the road from home, in southern Alberta. This is a stitch of 16 segments each 10 seconds with the Venus Optics 15mm lens at f/4 on the Canon R6 at ISO 800. The camera was turned portrait for vertically oriented segments. Stitched with PTGui with spherical projection.
Equinox Aurora in Twilight Panorama #2 (March 23, 2023)
A 360° panorama of the great equinox aurora of March 23, 2023, with the aurora already bright as the sky darkened at twilight. The Kp values peaked at Kp7 this night. A purple arc stretches high across the sky, looking a little like a STEVE arc, with a green band below it. The green arc has some of the features of a "dunes" aurora in that it shows horizontal streaks. This is looking east (at left) to south (at centre) to west (right of centre toward the sunset twilight) and north (at far right). The zenith is at top where the rays of the puple arc converge. The crescent Moon and Venus shine above the bright twilight arch. Orion and the winter stars are at centre. Leo and the spring stars are rising over my house at left. The Big Dipper is at far right beside an odd isolated ray of aurora. Shot from the field across the road from home, in southern Alberta. This is a stitch of 16 segments each 10 seconds with the Venus Optics 15mm lens at f/4 on the Canon R6 at ISO 800. The camera was turned portrait for vertically oriented segments. Stitched with PTGui with equirectangular projection.
Equinox Aurora in Twilight Panorama #1 (March 23, 2023)
A 270° panorama of the great equinox aurora of March 23, 2023, as it was beginning to emerge in the darkening twilight sky. The Kp values peaked at Kp7 this night. Visible is a purple arc high across the sky, looking a little like a STEVE arc, with a green band below it. The green arc has some of the features of a "dunes" aurora in that it shows horizontal streaks. This is looking east to south to west, with the view at right toward the sunset twilight with the crescent Moon and Venus above the still bright twilight sky. Orion and the winter stars are at centre. Leo and the spring stars are rising over my house at left. Shot from the field across the road from home, in southern Alberta. This is a stitch of 11 segments each 8 seconds with the Venus Optics 15mm lens at f/4 on the Canon R6 at ISO 400. The camera was turned portrait for vertically oriented segments. Stitched with PTGui.
Aurora and Dim SAR Arc Against the Milky Way
A fish-eye image of the aurora of Sept. 26/27, 2022, from home in Alberta, with the Milky Way across the sky from south to north, and a vey dim red SAR (Stable Auroral Red) arc crossing the sky from east to west overhead. This is a single 30-second exposure with the TTArtisan 7.5mm lens at f/2 on the Canon R6 at ISO 2000. Taken as part of a time-lapse sequence to look for the development of a SAR arc or STEVE.
Aurora Panorama with SAR and STEVE - 2 (Aug 29, 2022)
A panorama of a Kp4-level aurora to the north with a faint STEVE arc to the east with a very dim red SAR arc or reddish glow across the north above the main aurora as well. Prominent green airglow is visible to the southeast at right near Jupiter. Taken from home August 29, 2022, with the Canon Ra and RF15-35mm lens at 15mm and f/2.8 for 20 seconds at ISO 3200.
Aurora Panorama with SAR and STEVE - 1 (Aug 29, 2022)
A panorama of a Kp4-level aurora to the north with a faint STEVE arc to the east with a very dim red SAR arc or reddish glow across the north above the main aurora as well. Prominent green airglow is visible to the southeast at right near Jupiter. Taken from home August 29, 2022, with the Canon Ra and RF15-35mm lens at 15mm and f/2.8 for 20 seconds at ISO 3200.
Aurora with STEVE - 4 (August 29, 2022)
A Kp4-level aurora to the north with a STEVE arc to the east with traits of a red SAR arc as well. Taken from home as part of a time-lapse sequence, August 29, 2022, with the Canon R6 and Venus Optics Laowa 15mm lens at f/2 for 20 seconds at ISO 1600. This shows the green picket fence fingers.
Aurora with STEVE - 3 (August 29, 2022)
A Kp4-level aurora to the north with a STEVE arc to the east with traits of a red SAR arc as well. Taken from home as part of a time-lapse sequence, August 29, 2022, with the Canon R6 and Venus Optics Laowa 15mm lens at f/2 for 20 seconds at ISO 1600.
Aurora with STEVE - 2 (August 29, 2022)
A Kp4-level aurora to the north with a STEVE arc to the east with traits of a red SAR arc as well. Taken from home as part of a time-lapse sequence, August 29, 2022, with the Canon R6 and Venus Optics Laowa 15mm lens at f/2 for 20 seconds at ISO 1600.
Aurora with STEVE - 1 (August 29, 2022)
A Kp4-level aurora to the north with a STEVE arc to the east with traits of a red SAR arc as well. Taken from home as part of a time-lapse sequence, August 29, 2022, with the Canon R6 and Venus Optics Laowa 15mm lens at f/2 for 20 seconds at ISO 1600.
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.
A dim Perseid meteor (at top) streaking near the Milky Way on the night of Aug 7-8, 2022, taken as part of a time-lapse set for the STEVE auroral arc in frame as the pink band. The Summer Triangle stars are at right. Light from the low gibbous Moon lights the sky. This is a single 30-second exposure at f/3.2 with the RF15-35mm lens at 20mm and Canon R5 at ISO 1250. The camera was on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. The focus is a little soft!
STEVE Arc with Green Fingers (Aug 7, 2022)
A portrait of the infamous STEVE arc of hot flowing gas associated with an active aurora, here showing his distinctive pink colour and the fleeting appearance of the green picket fence fingers that often show up hanging down from the main arc. On this night the green fingers lasted no more than two minutes. STEVE = Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, and is a river of hot gas flowing east to west equatorward of the main aurora band. This is a tracked single image looking straight up, and framing the Summer Triangle stars at right and the Milky Way. Moonlight from the setting waxing gibbous Moon lights the sky, as does the bright aurora to the north. This is a 30-second exposure with the Canon R5 at ISO 1250 and the RF15-35mm lens at f/3.2, with the camera on a Star Adventurer Mini tracker. The focus is a little soft but the image serves to illustrate the phenomenon. The frame is part of a short time-lapse sequence.
STEVE Arc All-Sky with Green Fingers (Aug 7, 2022)
A portrait of the infamous STEVE arc of hot flowing gas associated with an active aurora, here showing his distinctive pink colour and the fleeting appearance of the green picket fence fingers that often show up hanging down from the main arc. On this night the green fingers lasted no more than two minutes. STEVE = Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, and is a river of hot gas flowing east to west equatorward of the main aurora band. STEVE appeared after the main Kp5-level aurora died down in activity to the north, typical behaviour for STEVE. He was visible for only 35 to 40 minutes, again typical. This is a single untracked image looking straight up, and taking in most of the summer sky using a fish-eye lens. Moonlight from the setting waxing gibbous Moon lights the sky, as does the bright aurora to the north, visible at left. The Summer Triangle stars are at centre at the zenith; Jupiter is the bright object rising at lower left in the southeast. This is a 20-second exposure with the Canon Ra at ISO 1600 and the TTArtisan 7.5mm lens at f/2. The frame is part of a time-lapse sequence.
STEVE Arc Wide-Angle with Green Fingers (Aug 7, 2022)
A portrait of the infamous STEVE arc of hot flowing gas associated with an active aurora, here showing his distinctive pink colour and the fleeting appearance of the green picket fence fingers that often show up hanging down from the main arc. On this night the green fingers lasted no more than two minutes. STEVE = Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, and is a river of hot gas flowing east to west equatorward of the main aurora band. STEVE appeared after the main Kp5-level aurora died down in activity to the north, typical behaviour for STEVE. He was visible for only 35 to 40 minutes, again typical. This is a single untracked image looking high in the south, and taking in most of the summer sky using a full-frame fish-eye lens. Moonlight from the setting waxing gibbous Moon in the southwest lights the sky, as does the bright aurora to the north, just visible at upper left. The Summer Triangle stars are at centre at the zenith; Jupiter is the bright object rising at lower left in the southeast. This is a single 25-second exposure with the Canon R6 at ISO 1250 and the TTArtisan 11mm lens at f/2.8. The frame is part of a short time-lapse sequence.
STEVE Appearance Sequence 4 of 4 (August 7, 2022)
One of a series of images showing the STEVE arc appearing in the east and developing brighter. This was August 7-8, 2022, from southern Alberta, Canada at about 12:25 am MDT. This shows a faint green-white band on the left edge of the main pink arc. The sky at left to the northeast is bright with aurora, and twilight. Also, the waxing gibbous Moon off frame at right lights the sky and landscape. The bright object rising is Jupiter. This is with the Canon R6 at ISO 1600, for 25 seconds, and TTArtisan 11mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2.8.
STEVE Appearance Sequence 3 of 4 (August 7, 2022)
One of a series of images showing the STEVE arc appearing in the east and developing brighter. This was August 7-8, 2022, from southern Alberta, Canada at about 12:21 am MDT. This shows a white band developing to the left of the pink arc, and a brief lighting up of the sky north (left) of STEVE with a green patchy aurora. The sky at left to the northeast is bright with aurora, and twilight. Also, the waxing gibbous Moon off frame at right lights the sky and landscape. The bright object rising is Jupiter. This is with the Canon R6 at ISO 1600, for 25 seconds, and TTArtisan 11mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2.8.
STEVE Appearance Sequence 2 of 4 (August 7, 2022)
One of a series of images showing the STEVE arc appearing in the east and developing brighter. This was August 7-8, 2022, from southern Alberta, Canada at about 12:19 am MDT. This shows a faint green picket-fence fingers and a white band to the left of the main pink arc. The sky at left to the northeast is bright with aurora, and twilight. Also, the waxing gibbous Moon off frame at right lights the sky and landscape. The bright object rising is Jupiter. This is with the Canon R6 at ISO 1600, for 25 seconds, and TTArtisan 11mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2.8.
STEVE Appearance Sequence 1 of 4 (August 7, 2022)
One of a series of images showing the STEVE arc appearing in the east and developing brighter. This was August 7-8, 2022, from southern Alberta, Canada at about 12:11 am MDT. The sky at left to the northeast is bright with aurora, and twilight. Also, the waxing gibbous Moon off frame at right lights the sky and landscape. The bright object rising is Jupiter. This is with the Canon R6 at ISO 1600, for 25 seconds, and TTArtisan 11mm full-frame fish-eye lens at f/2.8.
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.