Iceland Aurora 30th October 2021
- marktownley
- Librarian
- Posts: 42269
- Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:27 pm
- Location: Brierley Hills, UK
- Has thanked: 20424 times
- Been thanked: 10242 times
- Contact:
Iceland Aurora 30th October 2021
It was the 'super storm' that wasn't last night. NASA boffins predicted the Coronal Mass Ejection would hit at 18:00ut with auroras lasting for days. It didn't, it may have not even arrived yet, what did hit was a glancing blow from another solar flare that occurred earlier in the week, hitting at more like 22:00ut. For about an hour and half the sky was wild with aurora, but then by midnight it had died right off, and by 05:00ut all that remained was a quiescent green arc. This time lapse is over about 10 minutes at around 22:30ut. Despite the bright lights of Reykjavik it was still seen reflecting in the waters of the bay. Just glad we managed to finish our week with aurora. After taking these shots it was time to head back to the hotel for 3 hours sleep before having to get the shuttle back to the airport... Good times!
1024-ani by Mark Townley, on Flickr
1024-ani by Mark Townley, on Flickr
http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
Solar images, a collection of all the most up to date live solar data on the web, imaging & processing tutorials - please take a look!
- Carbon60
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 14204
- Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2012 12:33 pm
- Location: Lancashire, UK
- Has thanked: 8415 times
- Been thanked: 8161 times
Re: Iceland Aurora 30th October 2021
Excellent, Mark. I’m so glad you managed to see and photograph the Aurora before you had to leave. It’s a pity the CME didn’t deliver a strong direct blow.
Stu.
Stu.
H-alpha, WL and Ca II K imaging kit for various image scales.
Fluxgate Magnetometers (1s and 150s Cadence).
Radio meteor detector.
More images at http://www.flickr.com/photos/solarcarbon60/
Fluxgate Magnetometers (1s and 150s Cadence).
Radio meteor detector.
More images at http://www.flickr.com/photos/solarcarbon60/
- Montana
- Librarian
- Posts: 34558
- Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2011 5:25 pm
- Location: Cheshire, UK
- Has thanked: 17648 times
- Been thanked: 8787 times
Re: Iceland Aurora 30th October 2021
Fabulous!!! luck at the last minute It looks like it was only Iceland that really got the blast (gentle gust).
I would love to see this again someday, I need a holiday northwards
Alexandra
I would love to see this again someday, I need a holiday northwards
Alexandra
- ffellah
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 11168
- Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2014 6:46 pm
- Location: Westport, CT USA
- Has thanked: 9143 times
- Been thanked: 6024 times
Re: Iceland Aurora 30th October 2021
Love your time lapse, Mark. I am glad you got to see it after the sleepless nights. Lisa and I would very much like to go to Iceland in the next few years to see the lights.
Franco
Franco
-
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 6871
- Joined: Mon May 18, 2020 4:45 pm
- Location: Essex, S.E.England
- Been thanked: 4900 times
Re: Iceland Aurora 30th October 2021
Very well done Mark on the super animation , which whatever Aurora event was captured, certainly shows the action very well.
Thanks vm for sharing
Terry
Thanks vm for sharing
Terry
-
- Almost There...
- Posts: 843
- Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2017 2:53 pm
- Has thanked: 1640 times
- Been thanked: 878 times
- MAURITS
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 8507
- Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2018 4:37 pm
- Location: Belgium
- Has thanked: 2412 times
- Been thanked: 4786 times
- Contact:
Re: Iceland Aurora 30th October 2021
What a spectacular sight from the aurora in Iceland.
Thanks for sharing Mark.
Thanks for sharing Mark.
- Ibbo
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 1429
- Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2014 10:13 pm
- Location: North of Nottingham England
- Has thanked: 2438 times
- Been thanked: 1650 times
- Ivan
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 1849
- Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2021 11:50 pm
- Location: Russia, Yaroslavl
- Has thanked: 3465 times
- Been thanked: 2250 times
Re: Iceland Aurora 30th October 2021
Excellent animation Mark, glad you saw this! What shutter speed did you use?
Ivan
Ivan
- DeepSolar64
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 18823
- Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2019 12:19 am
- Location: Lowndesville S.C.
- Has thanked: 17572 times
- Been thanked: 16689 times
Re: Iceland Aurora 30th October 2021
Mark,
I would have been thrilled to see it after so many years. Even though the geomagnetic storm turned out weaker than expected it's still a beautiful sight. Have you ever seen it from your home in England?
Congrats on the SPOD too!!
James
I would have been thrilled to see it after so many years. Even though the geomagnetic storm turned out weaker than expected it's still a beautiful sight. Have you ever seen it from your home in England?
Congrats on the SPOD too!!
James
Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
- arnedanielsen
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 7285
- Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2014 10:42 pm
- Location: Vestby, Norway
- Has thanked: 6181 times
- Been thanked: 7142 times
Re: Iceland Aurora 30th October 2021
Glad to see that you got clear skies and got to see and image the aurora, Mark!
Best regards,
Arne
Best regards,
Arne
- MapleRidge
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 10199
- Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2012 11:58 pm
- Location: Cambray, ON Canada
- Has thanked: 64 times
- Been thanked: 4340 times
- Contact:
Re: Iceland Aurora 30th October 2021
Magnificent animation Mark
Glad to hear you were able to catch it before the flight out!
Brian
Glad to hear you were able to catch it before the flight out!
Brian
Brian Colville
Maple Ridge Observatory
Cambray, ON Canada
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/185395281@N08/albums
10'x15 Roll-off Roof Observatory
Takahashi EM400 Mount carrying:
C14 + Lunt 80ED
Deep Sky Work - ASI294MM Pro+EFW 7x36/Canon 60D (Ha mod), ONAG
Planetary Work - SBIG CFW10, ASI462MM
2.2m Diameter Dome
iOptron CEM70G Mount carrying:
Orion EON 130ED, f7 OTA for Day & Night Use
Ha Setup: Lunt LS80PT/LS75FHa/B1200Ha + Home Brew Lunt Double Stack/B1800Ha on the Orion OTA + Daystar Quantum
WL, G-Band & CaK Setup: Lunt Wedge & Lunt B1800CaK, Baader K-Line and Altair 2nm G-Band filter
ASI1600MM, ASI432MM, ASI294MM Pro, ASI174MM, ASI462MM
Maple Ridge Observatory
Cambray, ON Canada
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/185395281@N08/albums
10'x15 Roll-off Roof Observatory
Takahashi EM400 Mount carrying:
C14 + Lunt 80ED
Deep Sky Work - ASI294MM Pro+EFW 7x36/Canon 60D (Ha mod), ONAG
Planetary Work - SBIG CFW10, ASI462MM
2.2m Diameter Dome
iOptron CEM70G Mount carrying:
Orion EON 130ED, f7 OTA for Day & Night Use
Ha Setup: Lunt LS80PT/LS75FHa/B1200Ha + Home Brew Lunt Double Stack/B1800Ha on the Orion OTA + Daystar Quantum
WL, G-Band & CaK Setup: Lunt Wedge & Lunt B1800CaK, Baader K-Line and Altair 2nm G-Band filter
ASI1600MM, ASI432MM, ASI294MM Pro, ASI174MM, ASI462MM
-
- Almost There...
- Posts: 604
- Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2021 5:43 pm
- Has thanked: 1071 times
- Been thanked: 1985 times
- marktownley
- Librarian
- Posts: 42269
- Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:27 pm
- Location: Brierley Hills, UK
- Has thanked: 20424 times
- Been thanked: 10242 times
- Contact:
Re: Iceland Aurora 30th October 2021
Thanks everyone for the kind words and also the SPoD.
I used my trusty Canon 350D, 15 years old now and still going somehow, although it has lots of hot pixels, a Sigma 10mm f4 lens, 15s exposure at iso800. There are 15 individual exposures in the sequence. My biggest problem was light pollution, and we were a good couple of miles from the centre of Reykjavik, along the sea front is completely illuminated by lights as can be seen in the animation, a shame as looking over the bay here looks north and not many years ago without the lights the view over the bay was quite dark.
I've seen the aurora from here in the UK 3 times in my lifetime so far - once when I was young over 30 years ago at my parents house, although admittedly they live(d) out in the countryside and back then skies were properly dark which is why I got into astronomy. I saw once around 2000, which was seen widely across the UK and then a few years ago in february when we were on holiday in North Wales I photographed the slightest hint of one, although no visible visually.
Have been to Iceland 20+ times, and seen aurora on a lot more times than that. What I do know is that while it is hard to predict 'exactly' when they will happen, it is very easy using magnetometer, solar proton flux, solar wind speed graphs etc to know when the aurora 'is' happening. Thus avoiding waiting outside getting cold in a sub polar climate. A bit of science is our friend on this occasion!
We're back again at the end of may / beginning of june next year, and with 24 hour daylight will be no chance of aurora, and too bright for NLC, but, we don't just go to Iceland for the northern lights!
I used my trusty Canon 350D, 15 years old now and still going somehow, although it has lots of hot pixels, a Sigma 10mm f4 lens, 15s exposure at iso800. There are 15 individual exposures in the sequence. My biggest problem was light pollution, and we were a good couple of miles from the centre of Reykjavik, along the sea front is completely illuminated by lights as can be seen in the animation, a shame as looking over the bay here looks north and not many years ago without the lights the view over the bay was quite dark.
I've seen the aurora from here in the UK 3 times in my lifetime so far - once when I was young over 30 years ago at my parents house, although admittedly they live(d) out in the countryside and back then skies were properly dark which is why I got into astronomy. I saw once around 2000, which was seen widely across the UK and then a few years ago in february when we were on holiday in North Wales I photographed the slightest hint of one, although no visible visually.
Have been to Iceland 20+ times, and seen aurora on a lot more times than that. What I do know is that while it is hard to predict 'exactly' when they will happen, it is very easy using magnetometer, solar proton flux, solar wind speed graphs etc to know when the aurora 'is' happening. Thus avoiding waiting outside getting cold in a sub polar climate. A bit of science is our friend on this occasion!
We're back again at the end of may / beginning of june next year, and with 24 hour daylight will be no chance of aurora, and too bright for NLC, but, we don't just go to Iceland for the northern lights!
http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
Solar images, a collection of all the most up to date live solar data on the web, imaging & processing tutorials - please take a look!
- pedro
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 12256
- Joined: Sun May 01, 2016 8:26 pm
- Location: Portugal
- Has thanked: 14 times
- Been thanked: 6573 times
- Contact:
Re: Iceland Aurora 30th October 2021
Great stuff Mark. I also use my Canon 350D all the time with the same lens
Pedro Re'
https://pedroreastrophotography.com/
https://pedroreastrophotography.com/