23: Night sky lit up by the northern lights

Night sky lit up by the northern lights

13 comments so far...

Fizgig May 15, 2017, 02:53 AM

Pretty =)

David B May 15, 2017, 12:33 PM

Yes, Fizgig, it was quite the sight!
David.

BJW May 15, 2017, 09:29 PM

Amazing photos, David, and you even got some stars in the pictures. This is one sight I would truly love to see!

Marvin Matthews May 16, 2017, 12:48 AM

Memory of my days in Alaska -- so lovely !

David B May 16, 2017, 01:35 AM

Thank you, all, for the comments. So glad you all liked the photos! These were some of the brightest auroras I've seen yet, out on the prairies. It was an amazing light show and went on for quite some time.
David.

Sonja May 16, 2017, 12:13 PM

Beautiful! Guess thats the advantage of living in a place closer to the pole and with little light pollution.

Andy Rodker May 16, 2017, 10:20 PM

Hi David!
A terrific shot!
Please help me here as I am obviously ignorant!
Where exactly did you see this? You say The Prairies. That to me means The Great Plains stretching into Canada. It all seems a long way south.
Not sure I understand.
1. I assumed you were from the UK!!
2. Maybe you are and are visiting North America.
3. I am possibly an idiot!
4. I assumed the Aurora Borealis was hardly ever seen south of the Arctic Circle. (OK I saw it once from Skye - incredible!) but the 49th parallel is a long way south, surely?
Sonja says you live close to the pole!
I am more and more confused!
Help!

David B May 16, 2017, 11:24 PM

Hi, Andy! No, you are not an idiot! I am Canadian and live in the the province of Saskatchewan. Never have been across the pond, nor many places outside of Canada.

Our little homestead is situated about 100 km north of the United States border (at about the 49th parallel) and we do see the auroras quite frequently; mostly during the winter months. Although, they are brighter and more spectacular the further you go north. It also helps to be out here, in the middle of nowhere, away from any big city lights.

From what I understand, about the only place you don't see the northern lights very often in this country is in southern Ontario, Canada. But I'm not sure if that is because of it's location or all of the light pollution.

Hope this helps!

Oh, and I'm glad you liked the photo!

David.

David B May 16, 2017, 11:40 PM

Yes, that is correct, Sonja! Out here, away from any major cities or town, the night sky is pretty dark. So, we get to see the auroras quite a bit, as well as lots and lots of stars.

Of course, the chem-trails are making it more difficult to see such sights. But, when it's a clear night, in the summer time, even the Milky Way gets to be very bright and is quite the sight to behold.

Needless to say, we love it out here. So glad you liked the photo.

David.

Andy Rodker May 17, 2017, 10:02 PM

Thank you for the explanations, David!
Yes, it must be the lack of light pollution that helps here.
I should have visited Edmonton many times. My uncle's family all live there and I'm the only English member of the family never to have visited - lack of opportunity mainly!
All best wishes,
Andy

BJW May 17, 2017, 10:18 PM

Enjoyed reading your explanation, David. It is very interesting. Andy, thanks for asking!

HerbRiddle May 24, 2017, 03:11 PM

Hi David. Great night shot of this marvellous scene. I have never seen it myself although I do see the occasional capture from just north of my home in Lancashire, UK. Your 8sec exposure looks about right for this too. Well done
Herb

David B May 24, 2017, 08:07 PM

Glad you liked the photo, Herb! The 8 second exposure was the maximum my digital camera would allow. I would have liked it to be a little longer, but them's the breaks.

Next time, I'm going to try capturing them on film. I have a camera that that has a "bulb" feature, so I can get a nice long exposure.

David.