Spaceweather.com is great for telling you when you can expect to see aurora in the night skies. Saskatchewan is the land of living skies, and Dec. 14th was proof of that.
More photos and animations … [caution to dialup users]
Looking nearly straight north. The time of the photos are within 30 minutes from about 10:00 PM CST.
Most of the exposures are 6 or 15 seconds long. The six second exposures were taken with 400 ISO equivalent “digital” film on a Canon Powershot S30 camera. The 15 second exposures usually with 200 ISO and an f-stop on the camera of “2.8″.
These two photos are the aurora’s vortex at 90 degrees (overhead) at different times.
The animations frames are taken about 15 to 30 seconds apart, and didn’t capture the dancing lights as well as I think a video camera might have last night. I took a few videos, but my camera’s CCD wasn’t sensitive enough to show the purple and green colours dancing from the south, all the way overhead to the north. The effect is the best light show on earth, and it requires no technology for it to be seen – it’s amazing. The best way to describe the appearance, is a sheet of translucent cloth, being waved overhead, with a flashlight shining up silent flames of purple and green light. It looks like a force shield being hit by something, in the Star Trek Next Generation special effects.
Fortunately there is a growing gallery with the purple and greens at Spaceweather.
I’m going to note, although I don’t know what kind of interest there would be, I’ll sell a dozen aurora 3 Mega pixel still images to your email box, {or mailbox on CD for $1 more} including the ones above, for $5 CND.
Email saskboy at his hotmail address, to work out payment by PayPal balance transfer, Certapay, or by mail. Sorry no credit cards, or old socks accepted.
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Star Trek may be coming back as an animated series in a time after Jean Luc Picard. The Romulans occupied Kronos, and the Vulcans have left the Federation! W00T! Star Trek might be coming back! *faints*
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Steve V | 16-Dec-06 at 10:05 am | Permalink
Those are great shots!
leftdog | 16-Dec-06 at 10:51 am | Permalink
GREAT JOB!! Those are spectaclar photos! The Saskatchewaan motto about ‘Land of living skies’ is an bang on when you look at your shots!
Great!
gordonm | 16-Dec-06 at 11:33 am | Permalink
As a transplanted Albertan living in Campbell River, BC, I really appreciated the pictures of the Northern Lights.
We don’t get to see these magnificent displays out here.
I was raised on a farm south of Chauvin, Alberta and there were no
street lights to diminish those spectacular sights.
I also miss being able to go outside on a cold, clear, moonless winter night
to look at the stars. From horizon to horizon.
And driving down a country road at night, with a full moon reflecting off the snow. If you got stuck it sort of spoiled it, but otherwise……
We had almost two feet of snow at our house a week ago, and another six inches today with more coming. That keeps me from getting homesick.
Saskboy | 16-Dec-06 at 11:36 am | Permalink
I like trudging through deep snow too. With ski pants and a toque on, I don’t think I could feel more invincible. The view of the sky where I grew up in Wood Mountain is much better than from Yorkton where the light pollution is pretty intense.
Peter Loewen | 16-Dec-06 at 12:08 pm | Permalink
I am envious of those who live in the real north. I grew up in North Bay, which is well below the 49th. We’d spend weekends out watching satellites and stars, occasionally getting small bits of the Northern lights. These pictures make me at once reminiscent and very jealous.
Saskboy | 16-Dec-06 at 12:18 pm | Permalink
Here’s a bonus from Nov. 9 2004 from the same location as the photos from two nights ago.
http://sask.sasktelwebsite.net/images/nov9lights.jpg
Saskboy | 16-Dec-06 at 12:46 pm | Permalink
It’s not processed as I write this, but a video with faint colours shows in real time how fast the lights move when they are really dancing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzOzNPzl6vk
OK my video is too dark when it’s on YouTube.
Here’s a better one from BC this year
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDc-0wne6fg
melwilde | 16-Dec-06 at 1:57 pm | Permalink
Make me “almost” want to move back to Saskatoon. You have given us all a very wonderful christmas gift. thank you
p.s. all our expatriate sask folks are coming over to watch!
anonymous | 16-Dec-06 at 2:03 pm | Permalink
My dream is to one day move back to small-town Saskatchewan….thanks for the photos, but they’ve made me homesick too.
Pat | 16-Dec-06 at 2:16 pm | Permalink
Great photos. Read about the solar activity that was going to produce these scene. Great stuff.
vf | 16-Dec-06 at 2:22 pm | Permalink
These are amazing pictures of a truly beautiful phenomenon! For those who have never seen Northern lights, these pictures are the best I have seen to give you an idea. Yes, we have them in the North Bay area, but you have to get out to the country like Rutherglen (Hi, Peter!) to get the best sky.
Richard | 16-Dec-06 at 2:28 pm | Permalink
Those are great shots, your lucky to see the Northern Lights, we rarely ever get to see them. Thanks for the show, and Merry Christmas. :)
Taliman | 16-Dec-06 at 2:37 pm | Permalink
Nice photos but hey, trying to sell 3 MP photos for $5? Not a really a great idea. Lot’s of people captured this event – it was a big one.
And for those who think this was a ‘Saskatchewan Living Skies’ event, think again. This whole thing was thanks to a storm on the sun and they were seen as far South as Arizona….including everywhere in between.
Not that we don’t appreciate the pictures, just wanted to set the facts straight.
And follow saskboy’s advice by checking out the whole gallery at http://www.spaceweather.com
Saskboy | 16-Dec-06 at 2:42 pm | Permalink
melwilde what’s keeping you away from Saskatoon? :-)
Anon, good luck with the dream, I think most expats would like a chance to go there and be employed and have plenty of quiet nights and good people around them.
Thank you Pat, vf, and Richard, and Merry Christmas to you too.
Taliman, as I said I don’t expect to sell any, but I thought I’d let it be known to test the waters, so thank you for your input.
Naturally it wasn’t a Sask-only event, even though like the Sun, the world does revolve around us ;-) Heck the rest of the country sets their time according to us, because we don’t move.
Shane O. | 16-Dec-06 at 9:37 pm | Permalink
Beautiful shots. Makes me a little more eager to return to Sask someday. In the short term, I’d love to do some winter camping with my sons and hopefully see some N. lights at the same time. It’s strange, but the best I’ve ever seen them was in Regina from my parents’ backyard. Although I have better memories of seeing them from in the yard at my grandparents’ farm in the southeast of the province. A sky that reaches from horizon to horizon, filled with dancing lights (usually, we justed looked for shooting stars and satellites – since they’re more common). Maybe if house prices in Calgary pick up again, we’ll be able to afford to come back sooner than later.
Have a great Christmas everyone (we’ll be back in both Regina and S’toon for the holidays).
OMMAG | 18-Dec-06 at 11:23 am | Permalink
Picked up the link from SDA…well done!
I have walked in the country by the light of the Aurora what a sight!
They say that if you are in the northern wilderness that you can hear them..something I would like to experience.
Cheers….
bryan | 18-Dec-06 at 3:45 pm | Permalink
Thanx for these animations
Jasmine Johansson | 18-Dec-06 at 8:05 pm | Permalink
Amazing! Amazing!
Always been my dream to see the Northern Lights “live” – thanks for giving me a small taste of what it’s like…
Honestly, what I would do to trade the Northern Lights for the constant helicopter lights that roam over head at night here in DC…
Saskboy | 18-Dec-06 at 8:10 pm | Permalink
You’re all welcome, newest Northern Lights admirers. I wish I had some panoramic shots, but they moved too quickly to make a good one.
ok4ua | 20-Dec-06 at 5:04 pm | Permalink
I’ve been way up north and you could here the Northern lights crackling
Saskboy | 20-Dec-06 at 5:38 pm | Permalink
ok4ua I’d love to hear that. Watching them sounds like what it must be like to be deaf, while watching a fire up close.
Arne Bargheer | 25-Dec-06 at 11:38 am | Permalink
Just wanted to post a thank you for these wonderful pictures, i really enjoyed them.
I have seen northern lights myself a few times here from Denmark, but never as clear or as strong as these from your photos.
Saskboy | 26-Dec-06 at 3:28 pm | Permalink
You’re welcome Arne. They were sometimes not so bright, but the camera brought out the green colour. The purple didn’t show up in my photos at all this time.
Abandoned Stuff by Saskboy » Blog Archive » Solar Flare Power ; OGC | 07-May-08 at 7:06 am | Permalink
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