Colourful Aurora Panorama
Taken by Alan Dyer on September 16, 2024 @
near Gleichen, Alberta
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Camera Used: Unavailable Unavailable
Exposure Time: Unavailable
Aperture: Unavailable
ISO: 400
Date Taken: 2024:09:17 11:59:54
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Details:
This is a 360° panorama from left (southeast) to right (northeast) and extending from the horizon to the zenith, taking in the entire sky during an outburst of a particularly colourful aurora on September 16, 2024. This was from home in southern Alberta.
The numbers were indicating a Kp index of 8 this night, though the peak was earlier in the evening before it got dark at my location. The aurora was well underway in the darkening twilight, but underwent a major outburst at about 9:20 pm MDT when I shot this panorama.
The brightest part of the display captured here lasted only abut 10 minutes before the show settled down into fainter pulsating patches and curtains.
But for a few minutes the curtains converged to the magnetic zenith at top left to produce a coronal outburst that was bright to the eye, and pinkish-white here. The outburst was notable for its strong pinks over much of the sky, likely from nitrogen molecules glowing, indicative of a very energetic rain of electrons. Also present are the more usual yellow-greens from oxygen, and briefly at left some strong oxygen reds. The bright object at left is the almost Full Moon. Arcing across the south left of centre is a diffuse blue-green band, which might be a proton aurora with hydrogen-beta emission. The sky is blue from moonlight.
At left of centre at top are the Summer Triangle stars, with Deneb (left) and Vega (right) strongly distorted by the geometric projecton which stretches out the zenith content. At right is the Big Dipper, Polaris and Cassiopeia. North is at right toward Polaris. The Moon is in the southeast. Saturn sits just left of the Moon. Later this night at about 5 am (on Sept. 17) the Moon occulted Saturn as they were going down in the southwest.
Technical:
This is a panorama of 12 segments (at 30° spacing for generous overlap), shot in quick succession, each 4 seconds long with the Venus Optics Laowa 15mm lens at f/2 and the Canon R5 at only ISO 400, with the camera in portrait orientation. Developed in Camera Raw and stitched in PTGui. The aurora was changing rapidly, so the zenith area in particular at top is a blend of various segments' content to create a smooth transition without abrupt seams. So the panorama does not represent what the aurora looked like at one instant in time, but is a blend of images taken over about a minute.
Photographer's website:
https://amazingsky.com
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