Tonight, there was a major geomagnetic storm, and the auroras began as soon as it was dark enough to see them. It was not the best display I’ve seen in South Dakota, but the appearance of another phenomenon was completely unexpected and welcome! I took lots of photos but for now, I’m going to post only three. I wish this had happened when I was in Harding County, a couple of degrees further north might have made a big difference.
The aurora stayed low on the horizon most of the time, this is about as good as it got. I could see it very well with the unaided eye but the camera picks up a lot more color. All images are taken with a Canon 6D, 35mm Sigma art lens, mounted on an iOptron Sky Tracker. On the left is STEVE. STEVE, formally known as Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, is different from the aurora. It looks like a ribbon of pink or mauve light. Sometimes, STEVE even has a “picket fence” appearance, with green columns of light passing through the ribbon. That can be seen in my photo. Auroras, by contrast, usually are shimmering green ribbons. Very exciting to see it! Another image with STEVE and aurora on the right. I enhanced the stars in the Big Dipper.
2 replies on “Northern Lights”
I’d never heard of Steve, that would be exciting to see. It was a colorful aurora, very pretty.
2 replies on “Northern Lights”
I’d never heard of Steve, that would be exciting to see. It was a colorful aurora, very pretty.
Wowzers!!!!