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Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Sat 01 Jun, 2013 6:32 pm
by Overlandman
The Aurora Australis is visible at the moment, from Hobart, & faintly in the North West, I will head up to Braddons Lookout for a look,
Regards Overlandman

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Sat 01 Jun, 2013 7:06 pm
by tasadam
There's some good pages / groups / whatever on facebook if you're on it, giving loads of updates.
Yes, tonight is a good night for it.

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Sat 01 Jun, 2013 8:14 pm
by Overlandman
Spent 30 minutes at Braddons Lookout, it is low in the southern sky with faint shafts of white light.

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Sat 01 Jun, 2013 10:02 pm
by stepbystep
I spent a cpl hours at South Arm. It was pretty nice until the cloud came over

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Sun 02 Jun, 2013 9:16 am
by stepbystep
My camera isn't much chop in low light, but it's a very cool thing to see.
P1250479-2.jpg

P1250480-2.jpg


Some photographers were doing some 'light painting' down there also.

P1250484-2.jpg

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Sun 02 Jun, 2013 9:20 am
by wayno
totally awesome, what exposure length, F stop and ISO is that?

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Sun 02 Jun, 2013 9:28 am
by stepbystep
wayno wrote:totally awesome, what exposure length, F stop and ISO is that?


Top two would have been 25" @ f/4.0 with ISO 800.
A good camera you'd bring it back to 15" @f/2.4 and a much higher ISO. The images the other guys were getting were very impressive.

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Sat 07 Jun, 2014 8:56 pm
by Overlandman
Bureau of Met have a new webcam based at Cressy

(Not sure if it is working as the photo was at 10:21am & I was looking at 8:56pm)

http://www.ips.gov.au/Geophysical/4/2

An all-sky aurora patrol CCD camera located at Cressy, Tasmania provides aurora watchers with real-time guidance on whether auroras are visible from Tasmania. The date (yyyy/mm/dd), time (hh:mm:ss) and exposure time (seconds) are shown in the top left corner of the images. The images are orientated with South to the right and East at bottom. When fog or low cloud is present, patches of green glow occur toward the left (North). This is caused by light pollution from Cressy located several kilometres to the North of the station. Faint red auroras (630.0 nm) are often apparent low on the southern horizon (right) for Kp of 3 or more. Green auroras (557.7 nm) are often recorded low on the southern horizon for Kp of 4 or more.
The human eye loses sensitivity to deep red light when dark adapted, so red auroras remain sub-visual unless they are very bright. The green auroras are often as bright as the Milky Way, and they are almost certainly visible to a well-trained observer from locations free of cloud and light pollution. Red auroras can extend toward zenith above Tasmania during the local midnight hours when Kp is 6 or more.

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Mon 09 Jun, 2014 7:41 pm
by walkerchris77
Wow. Stupid question but does it move and change colour quickly, or is that time lapse footage I see on tv. ?

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Mon 09 Jun, 2014 7:50 pm
by Strider
walkerchris77 wrote:Wow. Stupid question but does it move and change colour quickly, or is that time lapse footage I see on tv. ?
yes it does

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Mon 09 Jun, 2014 8:14 pm
by walkerchris77
Thanks strider.

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Wed 11 Jun, 2014 10:09 am
by doogs
It does move but not that quickly, as it's a timelapse and each image takes around 15 seconds of exposure.

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Wed 11 Jun, 2014 10:34 am
by stepbystep
It depends on A LOT of factors. Think of it like water, a ripple or a wave or still.

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Wed 11 Jun, 2014 11:03 am
by stepbystep
Here's a fairly recent one. The high vertical beams appeared very pale green/pink to the naked eye and shifted horizontally across the horizon. Oh and the 'glow' was visible all night as a pale green that shimmers/ripples intermittently as the particles strike the atmosphere.

This is a 13" exposure @2.8 14mm ISO 2500 zero saturation applied in PP just noise reduction and some clarity work

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Wed 18 Mar, 2015 4:17 pm
by Overlandman
A bit cloudy on the coast at the moment,
Hopefully we will be able to see the Aurora in the coming nights sky.
Nice photos attached in the link

From the Mercury

http://www.themercury.com.au/lifestyle/ ... 7268233617

AS the stunning aurora australis returns to the visibility and delight of keen snappers and aurora hunters, the barrage of breathtaking photos is also returning.

Known as the Southern Lights, the colourful display is caused when electronically charged particles hit the Earth’s upper atmosphere.

The active phase of an auroral display lasts for 15 to 40 minutes.

Tasmania has a growing reputation as a place to view and capture the aurora australis, but arguably still the best viewing spot is from the South Pole, which is where Australian Antarctic Division Casey Station mechanical supervisor Gordon Tait captured his amazing images on Tuesday night.

But don’t fear, it isn’t too late to capture your own stunning aurora image with Cambridge astronomer Shevill Mathers saying it will be visible for the next couple of days.

But this will depend on clear skies.

“The blast that has caused this aurora is the biggest we’ve had in this solar cycle,” he said.

“Usually when we get a blast this big it’s visable for a couple of days.”

Mr Mathers said the best time to try to catch a glimpse of the stunning light show was as soon as it gets dark.

If you capture the aurora australis in the next few nights, send your images to readerspix@dbl.newsltd.com.au

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Wed 18 Mar, 2015 9:11 pm
by walkon
Those pics from the Mercury are the coolest aurora shots I have ever seen. Will have to look up what makes the different colours now, amazing.

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Tue 23 Jun, 2015 6:23 pm
by Overlandman
From ABC
Fantastic photos, worth a look, your thoughts?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-23/p ... ia/6566074

Aurora Australis: Photographer captures amazing natural lightshow over Victoria

An amazing natural display of light has been captured in a series of images taken by a photographer in eastern Victoria.

Caitlin Gordon spotted the pink curtains of light from the Aurora Australis from a farm just outside Traralgon early on Tuesday morning.

"I thought it was actually some light reflecting from nearby power stations at first until I saw it on the camera," she told ABC Gippsland.

The phenomenon is caused when electrically charged electrons and protons accelerate down the Earth's magnetic field lines and collide with neutral atoms in the upper atmosphere — usually about 100 kilometres above the Earth, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Scroll through Ms Gordon's stunning images:

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Tue 23 Jun, 2015 9:16 pm
by walkabout
Incredible colour!

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Tue 23 Jun, 2015 10:45 pm
by Zone-5
I luv seeing the southern lights and I use these online predictors to get the best views. The following NOAA forecasts are based on the forecast of the planetary geomagnetic activity index: Kp. The higher the Kp index (>5), the more chance you have of seeing the southern Auroras...

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/3-day-forecast

Image



These two NOAA pictures (below) are dynamic in that they are updated constantly when ever you refresh the screen! These graphs show the immediate prediction for seeing an aurora in the southern hemisphere. Enjoy! 8)

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OVATION Aurora Forecast Model: 30 minute prediction

This Aurora 30 minute prediction image is updated every 30 minutes and every time it is refreshed!

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/auror ... e-forecast

The OVATION Aurora Forecast Model shows the intensity and location of the aurora predicted for the time shown at the top of the map. This probability forecast is based on current solar wind conditions measured at L1, but using a fixed 30-minute delay time between L1 and Earth. A 30-minute delay corresponds to approximately 800 km/s solar wind speed as might be encountered during geomagnetic storming conditions. In reality, delay times vary from less than 30 minutes to an hour or so for average solar wind conditions.

The sunlit side of Earth is indicated by the lighter blue of the ocean and the lighter color of the continents. The day-night line, or terminator, is shown as a region that goes from light to dark. The lighter edge is where the sun is just at the horizon. The darker edge is where the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon. Note that the aurora will not be visible during daylight hours; however, the aurora can often be observed within an hour before sunrise or after sunset. The red line at about 1000 km equatorward of the brightest aurora indicates how far away viewers on the ground might see the aurora assuming good viewing conditions.


REFRESH screen - to update image

Image

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OVATION 3-Day Aurora Forecast model: 3-hour cadence

This Aurora 3-Day prediction image is updated every 30 minutes and every time it is refreshed!

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/node/114

The 3-Day Aurora Forecast model shows the intensity and location of the aurora as expected for the time shown at the top of the map. This forecast is based on the 0 - 3 day forecast of the planetary geomagnetic activity index, Kp, that is provided as input on a 3-hour cadence. Each frame shows the estimated location of the aurora for a three-hour period. The sunlit side of Earth is indicated by the lighter blue of the ocean and lighter color of the continents. The day-night line or terminator is shown as a region that goes from light to dark. The lighter edge is where the sun is just at the horizon. The darker edge is where the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon.


REFRESH screen - to update image

Image


:wink:

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Wed 09 Sep, 2015 10:16 pm
by Overlandman
Just letting you know that the Southern Aurora is clearly visible tonight.
Fairly bright and white. No real colour on the coast looking south.
Regards Overlandman

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Thu 10 Sep, 2015 12:00 am
by stepbystep
Beautiful naked eye display in Hobart tonight...wonderful!!

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Thu 10 Sep, 2015 7:20 am
by GPSGuided
Wow!

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Thu 10 Sep, 2015 11:58 am
by stepbystep
About 10 seconds in things get a little bit special...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbc2KxC ... pp=desktop

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Thu 10 Sep, 2015 3:43 pm
by walkon
Thanks SbS, certainly put a grin on my face

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Thu 10 Sep, 2015 5:11 pm
by Overlandman
+1 thanks SBS,
Keep the photos coming.
Regards OLM

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Fri 11 Sep, 2015 8:07 am
by north-north-west
And to think I went to bed early because it clouded over here . . . :roll:

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Fri 11 Sep, 2015 8:04 pm
by stry
Unashamedly envious !!!!

Many thanks :D

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Fri 11 Sep, 2015 10:38 pm
by stepbystep
Lots of happy folk when the skies sing in the suburbs :)

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Tue 15 Sep, 2015 1:02 am
by beean
Very nice! That's a great location.

That was a good night for shooting.

Re: Aurora Australis

PostPosted: Thu 08 Oct, 2015 10:40 am
by Overlandman
From the ABC
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-08/a ... es/6836172

I didn't see it :(

The aurora australis has put on a colourful show over parts of southern Victoria and Tasmania overnight.

Hundreds of photographers took advantage of clear skies to capture the display and uploaded their photos onto Facebook groups where aurora hunters share their knowledge with others.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said the phenomenon is caused when electrically charged electrons and protons accelerate down the Earth's magnetic field lines and collide with neutral atoms in the upper atmosphere - usually about 100 kilometres above the Earth.