Auroras - STEVE Arc
Aurora Arc with a Thin STEVE #2 (April 16, 2021)
A brief showing of a STEVE arc on April 16-17, about 12:13 am MDT, appearing as a very thin arc just visible to the eye. The Kp was 5 this night but with the Bz often north. This was shortly after the main aurora to the north had died down somewhat from a sub-storm flare up about 15 minutes earlier. This is a single 13-second untracked exposure with the TTArtisan 11mm full-frame fish-eye lens wide open at f/2.8 on the Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 6400 (the lens is only for mirrorless cameras and does not transmit lens metadata to the camera).
Aurora Arc with a Thin STEVE #1 (April 16, 2021)
A brief showing of a STEVE arc on April 16-17, about 12:10 am MDT, appearing as a very thin arc just visible to the eye. The Kp was 5 this night but with the Bz often north. This was shortly after the main aurora to the north had died down somewhat from a sub-storm flare up about 15 minutes earlier. STEVE appears on the southward edge of the aurora glow. This is a single 13-second untracked exposure with the TTArtisan 11mm full-frame fish-eye lens wide open at f/2.8 on the Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 6400 (the lens is only for mirrorless cameras and does not transmit lens metadata to the camera).
Auroral Arc with Pink Pillars (April 16, 2021)
A classic arc of aurora borealis showing pink pillars and an upper red glow above the main arc. The Kp was 5 this night but with the Bz often north. Early in the evening the aurora appeared as a bright but mostly featureless arc and was visible even in the twilight. This shows the display just before midnight, as it brightened and danced with structure in a brief substorm outburst. A thin STEVE arc appeared shortly afterwards. This is a single 10-second untracked exposure with the TTArtisan 11mm full-frame fish-eye lens wide open at f/2.8 on the Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 6400 (the lens is only for mirrorless cameras and does not transmit lens metadata to the camera).
Red Auroral Arc Panorama v2 (April 14, 2021)
A panorama of the auroral arc seen from home in southern Alberta (latitude 51° N) on April 14/15, 2021, showing a very red component above (to the south of?) the main green auroral arc low across the north. At right, it takes on a STEVE-like appearance. Is this an example of a SAR Arc -- a Sub-Auroral Red Arc? A brief sighting of a partial STEVE arc was reported this night but I missed it. The Kp level did go as high as 5 this night. This scene was about 12:30 am MDT April 15, 2021. By coincidence the arc of the Milky Way low across the north parallels the arc of the Northern Lights. Capella is at far left in the northwest; Vega is rising at right of centre in the northeast. This is a stitch of 4 segments, each untracked for 45 seconds at f/2.8 with the Sigma 24mm Art lens on the Nikon D750 at ISO 1600. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Red Auroral Arc Panorama v1 (April 14, 2021)
A panorama of the auroral arc seen from home in southern Alberta (latitude 51° N) on April 14/15, 2021, showing a very red component above (to the south of?) the main green auroral arc low across the north. At right, it takes on a STEVE-like appearance. Is this an example of a SAR Arc -- a Sub-Auroral Red Arc? A brief sighting of a partial STEVE arc was reported this night but I missed it. The Kp level did go as high as 5 this night. This scene was at about 12:15 am MDT on April 15. By coincidence the arc of the Milky Way low across the north parallels the arc of the Northern Lights. Capella is at far left in the northwest; Vega is rising at right of centre in the northeast. This is a stitch of 7 segments, each untracked for 30 seconds at f/2.5 with the Sigma 24mm Art lens on the Nikon D750 at ISO 800. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
STEVE Aurora #4 (March 13, 2021)
An appearance of the STEVE arc on March 13, 2021, here looking east from home in southern Alberta, shot at 11:54 pm MST (the camera clock was 6 minutes slow). This was a hour or so after the main aurora to the north had brightened then faded. STEVE lasted no more than 30 minutes this night. This is a single 10-second shot with the Venus Optics 15mm lens at f/2 and Sony a7III at ISO 6400.
STEVE Aurora #3 (March 13, 2021)
An appearance of the STEVE arc on March 13, 2021, here looking overhead from home in southern Alberta, shot at 11:51 pm MST (the camera clock was 6 minutes slow). This was a hour or so after the main aurora to the north had brightened then faded. STEVE lasted no more than 30 minutes this night. This is a single 10-second shot with the Venus Optics 15mm lens at f/2 and Sony a7III at ISO 6400.
STEVE Aurora #2 (March 13, 2021)
An appearance of the STEVE arc on March 13, 2021, here looking west from home in southern Alberta, shot at 11:50 pm MST (the camera clock was 6 minutes slow). This was a hour or so after the main aurora to the north had brightened then faded. STEVE lasted no more than 30 minutes this night. This is a single 10-second shot with the Venus Optics 15mm lens at f/2 and Sony a7III at ISO 6400.
STEVE Aurora #1 (March 13, 2021)
An appearance of the STEVE arc on March 13, 2021, here looking east from home in southern Alberta, shot at 11:49 pm MST (the camera clock was 6 minutes slow). This was a hour or so after the main aurora to the north had brightened then faded. STEVE lasted no more than 30 minutes this night. This is a single 10-second shot with the Venus Optics 15mm lens at f/2 and Sony a7III at ISO 6400.
Auroral Arc Panorama (March 13, 2021)
An arc of aurora across the north, taken from home in southern Alberta March 13, 2021 on a night when the STEVE auroral arc appeared about 45 minutes after this was taken whren the main arc shown here had faded. This is a cropped stitch of 9 segments, each 30 seconds at f/2.8 with the Venus Optics 15mm lens and Sony a7III at ISO 1600. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Comet NEOWISE and STEVE Aurora over Waterton River (July 14, 2020)
Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) with the Northern Lights and a STEVE arc aurora to the left, all over the Waterton River at Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, on July 13-14, 2020. This was from the Maskinonge picnic area. The Big Dipper is at upper left. A very faint green picket fence aurora is at right above the comet, a characteristic of STEVE arcs. This was an astounding night for sky phenomena! This is a blend of a stack of six exposures for the ground and water to smooth noise, blended with a single short exposure for the sky, all 15 seconds at f/2 and ISO 3200, with the 20mm Sigma Art lens and Canon EOS Ra camera (with the Nikon-mount Sigma lens adapted to the EOS Ra with a Metabones F to RF adapter). LENR employed on all shots to reduce thermal noise this warm summer night.
Car, Comet and STEVE Under the Stars
A shot of my RAV4 with Comet NEOWISE in the sky at right along with an aurora and a magenta STEVE arc at left. Quite the sky! This was at Maskinonge Pond in Waterton Lakes National Park, July 13-14, 2020. The stars are nicely reflected in the car windows and body. A single 30 second exposure at ISO 3200 with the Sigma 20mm lens on the Canon EOS Ra.
STEVE Auroral Arc over Saskatchewan Star Party
A fragment of a STEVE auroral arc to the northwest over the main observing field at the Saskatchewan Summer Star Party, on August 31, 2019, just before midnight CST. The arc became more sharply defined over the previous 15 minutes, but then faded shortly affter this, though clouds were also moving in from the south. This was seen through a fortunate break in the clouds this night. There was a general wash of a diffuse arc of normal green aurora across the north as well. The Big Dipper is at centre. Kp Index was 5 this this, during a geomagnetic storm. This was from the Meadows Campground at the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, Centre Block, south of Maple Creek. This is a 25-second exposure with the 15mm Laowa lens at f/2 and Sony a7III at ISO 3200.
Thanksgiving Harvest Aurora Panorama #2
A panorama of the Northern Lights along my northern horizon from home in southern Alberta, on October 7/8, 2018, Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. After much weather delay the harvest was in fact in progress this night, thus the lights from combines and trucks to the north at left. The canola field where I am standing was harvested just that afternoon. The predictions were for a Kp5 to 6 display, but it seemed lower at Kp4 and never became more than a horizon arc with little activity from my location. Sites in far northern Alberta and the NWT saw a great display. Capella and the Pleiades are rising at right. The Big Dipper is low in the northwest at left. The oddity here is a blob of white that moved from east to west in the few minutes it was visible, at the end of what looks like a separate faint arc. It’s hard to say if this was anything related to the STEVE arc phenomenon. This is a stitch of 6 segments, each with the 24mm Sigma Art lens at f/4, and Nikon D750 at ISO 1600, for 30 seconds each. Stitched with Adobe Camera Raw.
Friend Stephen Bedingfield standing under the Aurora at a site near Yellowknife, NWT. This is a single exposure, 25 seconds at f/2 with the 14mm lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200.
STEVE Aurora over Bow Lake with the ISS
This is a rare appearance of the unusual STEVE auroral arc on the night of July 16-17, 2018, with a relatively low Kp Index of only 2 to 3. While the auroral arc was visible the ISS made a bright pass heading east. This is a blend of a single 15-second exposure for the sky and ground, with seven 15-second exposures for the ISS, but masked to reveal just the ISS trail and its reflection in the water. The ISS shots were taken at 3-second intervals, thus the gaps. All with the Sigma 20mm Art lens at f/2 and Nikon D750 at ISO 6400. Taken from Bow Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta.
STEVE Aurora at Bow Lake Looking North
The unusual STEVE auroral arc across the northern sky at Bow Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta on the night of July 16-17, 2018. The more normal green auroral arc is lower across the northern horizon. But STEVE here appears more pink. The STEVE aurora was colourless to the eye but did show faint fast-moving rays, here blurred by the long exposure. They were moving east to west. The Big Dipper is at left. The lights are from Num-Ti-Jah Lodge. This is a single exposure for the sky and a mean-stacked blend of 3 exposures for the ground to smooth noise. All 15 seconds at f/2 with the Sigma 20mm Art lens and Nikon D750 at ISO 6400.
Steve Auroral Arc over House #2 (May 6, 2018)
The unusual STEVE auroral arc over my house and reflected in the irrigation pond in southern Alberta, on May 6, 2018, on a partly cloudy night. A dim and inactive main aurora was to the north, but the Steve arc crossed the sky from east to west. This is a single 15-second image with the Sony a7III at ISO 3200 and Canon 24mm lens at f/2.
Fish-Eye Steve #1 (May 6, 2018)
A fish-eye lens / all-sky view of the STEVE aurora arc across the sky and in clouds on May 6, 2018, from home in southern Alberta, with a quiet aurora to the north providing a green glow along the horizon. This night the aurora was very active to the north and east with a terrific display in Churchill, Manitoba about an hour before this, matching the usual STEVE characteristic of him appearing as a major storm subsides. Here STEVE shows his characteristic pink and white streak and green picket-fence fingers. A satellite appears at the centre at the zenith. West is to the right, east to the left, south to the bottom. This was with the 8mm Sigma fish-eye lens at f/3.5 for 15 seconds with the Canon 6D MkII at ISO 6400. It is one frame from 180 shot for a time-lapse movie.
Steve Auroral Arc over House #1 (May 6, 2018)
The unusual STEVE auroral arc over my house in southern Alberta, on May 6, 2018, on a partly cloudy night. A dim and inactive main aurora was to the north, but the Steve arc crossed the sky from east to west. This is a single 10-second image with the Sony a7III at ISO 3200 and Canon 24mm lens at f/2.
Fish-Eye Steve #1 (May 6, 2018)
A fish-eye lens / all-sky view of the STEVE aurora arc across the sky and in clouds on May 6, 2018, from home in southern Alberta, with a diffuse aurora to the north casting streaks of purple up the sky, and a green glow along the horizon. This night the aurora was very active to the north and east with a terrific display in Churchill, Manitoba about an hour before this, matching the usual STEVE characteristic of him appearing as a major storm subsides. Here STEVE shows his characteristic pink and white streak and green picket-fence fingers. A satellite appears at the centre at the zenith. West is to the right, east to the left, south to the bottom. This was with the 8mm Sigma fish-eye lens at f/3.5 for 15 seconds with the Canon 6D MkII at ISO 6400. It is one frame from 180 shot for a time-lapse movie.
Fragments of Steve Aurora #3 (May 5, 2018)
A view of a Steve isolated arc aurora in the twilight looking east on May 5, 2018, but appearing only as fragmentary bits not a full arc across the sky. Steve was in view as it got dark, suggesting the main show was earlier in the evening and further east. By the time it got dark over Alberta the aurora was dying down and the Steve display fading and breaking up. A faint pink pillar was visible to the eye as a white streak to the east here.
Fragments of Steve Aurora #2 (May 5, 2018)
A view of a Steve isolated arc aurora in the twilight looking northwest on May 5, 2018, but appearing only as fragmentary bits not a full arc across the sky. Steve was in view as it got dark, suggesting the main show was earlier in the evening and further east. By the time it got dark over Alberta the aurora was dying down and the Steve display fading and breaking up. A faint pink pillar was visible to the eye as a white streak – the green picket fence fingers were not.
Fragments of Steve Aurora #1 (May 5, 2018)
A view of a Steve isolated arc aurora in the twilight looking northwest on May 5, 2018, but appearing only as fragmentary bits not a full arc across the sky. Steve was in view as it got dark, suggesting the main show was earlier in the evening and further east. By the time it got dark over Alberta the aurora was dying down and the Steve display fading and breaking up. A faint pink pillar was visible to the eye as a white streak – the green picket fence fingers were not.