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Spectacular Northern Lights

HOME » PHOTOS » NORTHERN LIGHTS You Are Here

On Thursday, October 30, 2003, a period of extreme solar activity led to several extreme geomagnetic storms.  The lakes region was shrouded in clouds and rain for all except one storm, which happened to be the most powerful.  Over one hundred photos were shot that night, and below are the ten best along with commentary.  They were shot with an Olympus C-2100 digital camera set at ISO 200 for a 10 to 16 second exposure at F2.8.  The photos were snapped 1/2 mile south of Weirs Beach on Route 3.
 

1.jpg (109017 bytes)It's rare for such an exceptional display of northern lights to come so early in the evening.  While some diffuse glows and otherwise uninspiring action developed right at sunset, things didn't really get going until 6:42pm. It went from dull to spectacular over just about a minute.

8.jpg (112278 bytes)This photo was taken three minutes after the first. The rays had brightened and moved higher overhead. These photos accurately represent what was seen in the sky. No excessively long exposure times were used to create an overly bright looking display. It was bright enough by itself.

7.jpg (97867 bytes)The tops of the rays continued to expand until they reached the zenith, directly overhead.  It was the making of the next photo, one of my favorites.  It should be noted that, yes, the reds were as visible to the camera as they were to my eye. It was one of few occasions where this has been true for me.

9.jpg (98302 bytes)This is the type of photo that makes you put a lot of faith in the ability of your tripod to hold on to your camera. This photo is looking straight up in the sky.  The tops of the rays came to a center point forming a jaw dropping display known as a corona. This is rare this far south.

2.jpg (95462 bytes)Here is another shot of the corona.  It's something everyone should get to see at least once. It's unfortunate few people will, since it takes a lot of luck.  There are so many factors working against seeing something like this is hard to believe anybody ever does.

10.jpg (59244 bytes)Sadly after about 15 minutes of sheer solar shock and awe, the spectacle overhead began to fade to a deep red and wither away.  The night wasn't over, but the part you'd tell your grandchildren about ends here.  A show like this only happens 4-8 times per solar cycle, which is 11 years long.

4.jpg (78677 bytes)While the action overhead had faded, action lower in the sky was picking up.  This deeply colored set of rays formed in the east and hung around for quite a while.  At this point, I was getting rather exhausted from frantic photo snapping, and I desperately needed a bathroom break, so I took a short rest.

6.jpg (114774 bytes)When I returned, there still was no corona, and the action in the east had shifted more to the west.  The strongest of the action never was anywhere near the northern sky.  I've noticed this in other strong outbursts as well.  These pink rays with a green backdrop were seen facing due west.

5.jpg (110437 bytes)Some time passed, and I'm beginning to wonder how much longer my batteries are going to last.  Things seemed to be winding down now.  The reds had faded, and this curtain of purple and green was all that was left.  This level of activity used to excite me, now, I think it's rather boring.

3.jpg (101330 bytes)This is the last interesting photo I took.  The time was 7:32pm.  Plenty of rays and splashes of color remained. It wasn't a very long show, but still, I felt rather drained at this point. I've spent a long time hoping to see a show like this, and seeing it was a bit more excitement than I could handle.

It was without question the most spectacular display of northern lights I've ever seen, and I've seen them more times than I can keep track of.  This was the brightest, most colorful, intense show that one could ever hope for.  As great as it was, a true aurora enthusiast such as myself couldn't help but wish for some of the other features that I've witness with smaller, weaker displays, such as easily visible movement and wave-like pulsations.  There was one thing about this display it hated, and that was the way it raised the bar so high that getting a shocking display again will be hard.

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