Aurora

June 02 2010

Object: Aurora Borealis
Date: November 5, 2001 (1:30 PM EST)
Exposure(s): 30 Seconds
Film: Kodak Supra 400
Equipement: Minolta Maxxum 9 w/ Tokina ATX280 lens @ 28mm and f/2.8
Hardware & Software: HP S20xi film scanner, Processed (lightly) and cropped Picture Window Pro 3.1c.

Info: It is VERY rare to see the Aurora Borealis from my home in south eastern Michigan, let alone to see it OVER my house. This image was captured around 10:30 pm and is aimed at zeinith. A large X-class CME on the previous day caused this auroral display to be visible over most of North America. The moon and the usual light pollution tried to wash out the effect but couldn't!

Object: Aurora Borealis
Date: September 28, 2000 (1:00 AM EDT)
Exposure(s): 1 Min
Film: Kodak Supra 400
Equipement: Minolta SRT102 w/Sigma 24mm lens @ f5.6

Hardware & Software: Taken around 1:00 AM EDT on 28 September 2000 from Platt River Point (Michigan). Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) is visible behind the aurora on the left hand side and Polaris is visible near the top edge of the frame as is Ursa Minor. The aurora can be seen reflecting off the Platt River in the foreground. This is around a 1 minute exposure on Kodak Supra 400 with a 24mm Sigma Lens stopped to f/5.6. This reasonably close to the way the Aurora really looked that night (maybe just a little more color).

No, this is not a sunset! This aurora was captured from the Brockway Mountain Lookout in Michigan's U.P.. This was an approximately 10 minute exposure on Kodak PJ400 with a tripod mounted Minolta SRT-102 and a f/2.8 Sigma 24mm lens stopped to f/4. The actual scene looked pale green to the naked eye but the photo brought out rich yellows, greens, reds, and oranges. The subtle vertical streaks in the photo looked like eerie pale green spikes stretching into the sky. Originally This image was scanned from a 5x7 photo, however I finally rescanned it from the negative using my HP Photosmart S20xi, the photo actually had better color, but this new scan is much cleaner. During the exposure the tripod was not level so the scene was tipped to the right, I corrected this using Picture Window, so the horizon of Lake Superior is now level. The bright star on the right hand side is Capella, the bright star higher on the left hand side is Merak from Ursa Major (The Big Dipper). The aurora is reflecting softly off of Lake Superior, which was about a mile in the distance and a few hundred feet below. The photo was taken from 87° 58' 9" West, 47° 27' 52" North at approximately 1:15 AM EDT on 24 July 1998. I would like to thank Manny and his son Blaize for giving me the enjoyment of showing them many things in the night sky through my telescope. I really enjoyed sharing a great star gazing (and aurora watching) experience with them that night.