Red Aurora

We are in the solar minimum and as a result the Aurora has not showed for a number of days, December and January are not that good for the Aurora in Shetland

While we wait for a good show here are some more reworked photos taken down at St Ninians last year

I always like a Red Aurora but these are rare so its good to savour any images

Some good colours here with Red, Purple, Green and Yellow/green present

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Aurora saved

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There has been very little Aurora activity these last few week as we hit the Solar minimum

So its been good to re-process some from earlier last year

These were taken down at St Ninian's Isle in the south mainland, Shetland back early last year but have just been re- processed

There was some good colour later on

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Shetland Aurora saved

Juts found these photos which I must have downloaded to my external hard drive just before my Desk top pack up

 This session was back in March 2019 down at St Ninian's over a period of two hours

 I am always amazed at how many shades of green show as the Aurora progresses. 

 This bench must be the best place to see the Aurora in Shetland, sometimes it is worth while just sitting and watching the Aurora in  action.

 Good bit of colour developed with some rays showing as well

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Shetland Star Trails

Star trails are a great way to show Stars in a different way. Often if you are photographing stars you are best to go for a well know constellation other wise people seem to be less impressed

 Star trails are easy to do, providing the conditions are favourable. First you need a clear night with no wind, difficult in Shetland

 The first three photos was taken at ISO800 30 seconds for 60 shots and then combined in a free software program Star trails. There are three different methods to combine photos, my favourite is the comet trails

The bottom image, photographed at Jarlshof in the south mainland is just 10 photos at ISO 800 30 second exposure

Have a great Christmas and don't forget to join Shetland Aurora Hunter on facebook

Aurora colours

There is no doubt that its great to see the Aurora no matter what colours are revealed. If we manage to see the Aurora with our own eyes then we will mostly see it in Black & White. This is because our eyes are made up of cones and rods

The cones reveal detail and colour in good light, in poorer light such as nightime then the rods which are located at the edge of the eye can only give a suggestion of colour mainly green, if we see any at all

Our atmosphere consists of oxygen and nitrogen and these are hit by charged particles blasted out from the sun. As they collide those hitting the Oxygen create a green and red Aurora while those hitting the Nitrogen create a blue or deep red/purple colour

There are many shades of these colours . We normally encounter a green yellow  colour while when the Aurora is very active then pillars created can be topped with red. Very occasionally a deep red colour can also be seen at the bottom of the Aurora

The strong green light occurs at around 120 - 180km's while red aurora can be both lower of higher

 

There is no doubt that a very active Aurora with large rays will be on most peoples bucket list

We are lucky that we can see many different variations in Shetland

To keep up to-date with Aurora activity in Shetland, make a point in joining Shetland Aurora Hunter on facebook