Aurora Borealis

 

Northern Lights 

News Flash! - A Coronal Mass Ejection has been detected on the surface of the sun. A massive solar flare has sent a major solar storm of charge subatomic particles heading toward earth and they will hit the magnetic field October 9 and 10. 

This could be exciting. The Space Weather Forecast is for the night sky to be lit up with green, pinks and reds by excited charged particles carried on the solar wind and entering earth's atmosphere around the poles and upper latitudes. As far as  such things go, this solar geomagnetic storm is predicted to be an 8 on the Kp Scale that ranges from 1 to 9. Pretty exciting. 

I have long wished to witness the Aurora Borealis overhead. Living most of my life in Texas and California has ruled out any real hope of being part of this natural phenomena. But wait - I now live in Northwest Washington, well within realistic range of the Northern Lights when the solar storm activity kicks up to a Kp 8. The draw back is that Washington skies are often overcast if not rainy. Getting a view of the Northern Lights will take more than wishing, geography and staying up late. It will take a bit of luck with the Washington weather too.

It was cloudy on October 9th and I wrote off the chance to see the Northern Lights and went to bed. The earth-bound forecast was for clear skies on the night of October 10. On the 10th, I studied my camera manual on the subject of night photography. I watched the sun set, the stars come out and I had picked a spot west of Stanwood along the tidal channel separating Camano Island from the mainland. I hoped this spot would offer a dark sky and an unobstructed view north.

There was a bit of ground fog haze, but not too much, the air was clear, but my spot was also downwind of the Stanwood sewage plant, so the air was 'aromatic' as well. There were a few other cars park along the dark service road when I got out there around 10 PM; some were looking for the northern lights, some were homeless people living in those parked vehicles.

My expectations were moderated, but optimistic. I was anticipating standing under waving, shimmering curtains of ethereal green lights dancing overhead. By the time I started my engine to return home and go to bed it was almost 11:30 and my expectation were dashed downward a bunch of notches. I experienced not the sight I'd anticipated, but a dim glow of the Aurora BOREalis. Boring.

I'd scanned the northern horizon looking for fingers of green and pink rays illuminating the boundary between earth and heaven - nothing. I caught sight of a dim, colorless glow to the northeast. The phenomena looked like the glow on those low clouds which reflect the light of an urban population beneath when driving into a city. Except, this glow lasted for a few minutes, faded and then reappeared with a different intensity. I figured these must be the Northern Lights off to the northeast. Oh well, that's them and I've now seen the Auroral Borealis.

To the naked eye the light was pale in comparison with the olid sewer gases filling my nostrils. I had read that using a long exposure on a camera would be a great way to capture the glory of the Aurora Borealis, better than the naked eye. I regret that I did not have the necessary tripod or remote shutter release for my camera for basic and proper night photography. I would have to do with using the hood of my SUV as a stable platform. 

I was already disappointed that the Northern Lights were not the swirling streams of radiating heavenly lights, just a faint, wan glow above the eastern front range mountains. But, I was even more disappointed in myself for not being able to execute a simple long exposure photo with my camera settings as I had thought I had learned by watching tutorial videos earlier in the day. I managed to get a single frame for a 6 second exposure at ISO 3200 f/5.6 while hand-holding my camera. I get a low D-Minus for my big photo opportunity with the Aurora Borealis. 

That one shaky photo is displayed on this blog. Pathetic.

An opportunity squandered. My expectations humbled. My technical skills absent.

Yes, I did see the Northern Lights. They were not what I thought they'd be - at least at this latitude. If another shot comes my way, I hope to have a tripod and and technical understanding of how use my camera. I'll be delighted to post any future success with Miss Aurora in her celestial glory. --'til then...