Contains:  Northern lights
Aurora with time-lapse animation: 2019-11-29, Darren (DMach)

Aurora with time-lapse animation: 2019-11-29

Aurora with time-lapse animation: 2019-11-29, Darren (DMach)

Aurora with time-lapse animation: 2019-11-29

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Description

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**For a higher-quality version of the time-lapse animation, please visit the link below**

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lmWe_QJrPQmf9hYI5chYIhOf_SAzHnYT

Please note: the Animated PNG (APNG) format does not work in all browsers - recommend you use Google Chrome on a laptop/desktop computer (it will likely not work on mobile devices).

Instructions:

- Click on the link above to open the shared Google Drive folder, then double click on the image.

- The file is large (105Mb) and will take a little time to load.

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I thought we had been lucky on the 27th November when I captured my previous aurora image ... but it turned out this was just a prelude to the "main event" on the night of 29th November.

In total I captured over 300 images that night. At times it seemed as though half the sky was on fire, making it difficult to decide where to point the camera ... it certainly was quite a show! Given we are at the minimum of the Sun's 11 year activity cycle and the weather is often quite cloudy at this time of year, we feel very lucky indeed to have witnessed it.

The image presented here is my favourite of the night, partly due to the spectacular patterns shown but primarily due to the bright band that appears on the left-hand edge of the image. When we showed this image to a native Sámi reindeer herder the next day, she became quite excited as the pattern formed by this band resembles their traditional "teepee" houses.

The time-lapse animation consists of 183 individual captures (10 seconds each @ f2.2, ISO800) over a period of approximately 45 minutes total. The main still image occurs at frame 165.

The file format restrictions of Astrobin only permit the use of GIFs for animation, a file format that was designed for blocks of solid colour ... this means it does not handle gradients at all gracefully, and doesn't do justice to the event in my opinion.

I therefore implore you to take the effort to view the Animated PNG (APNG) version, which can be found at the link above and below:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lmWe_QJrPQmf9hYI5chYIhOf_SAzHnYT

The downsides of the APNG format:

1. It is not currently supported by all browsers, so I recommend using Google Chrome on a laptop/desktop computer (it will likely not work on mobile devices).

2. For the animation to play, the file must be opened in a separate browser window. Therefore I have linked to the folder only - you will need to double-click on the APNG image to open and play it.

WARNING: the APNG file is quite large (105Mb) and will take some time to load. But hopefully you will agree it's worth the wait.

Thanks for looking!

Comments

Revisions

    Aurora with time-lapse animation: 2019-11-29, Darren (DMach)
    Original
    Aurora with time-lapse animation: 2019-11-29, Darren (DMach)
    B
    Aurora with time-lapse animation: 2019-11-29, Darren (DMach)
    C
    Aurora with time-lapse animation: 2019-11-29, Darren (DMach)
    D
    Aurora with time-lapse animation: 2019-11-29, Darren (DMach)
    E
    Aurora with time-lapse animation: 2019-11-29, Darren (DMach)
    F
  • Final
    Aurora with time-lapse animation: 2019-11-29, Darren (DMach)
    M
    Aurora with time-lapse animation: 2019-11-29, Darren (DMach)
    N

B

Description: Animated GIF of the timelapse series, but I highly recommend you view the Animated PNG format by clicking this link (does not work in all browsers, recommend you use Google Chrome on a laptop/desktop computer).

Uploaded: ...

C

Description: The subsequent image in this time lapse series. The "teepee" pattern is even more apparent in this capture, but the band is not as bright/brilliant ... can't decide which one I like more. :)

Uploaded: ...

D

Description: Another capture from the time-lapse series, in which a purple fringe is evident on the lower edge of the most intense band (due to excitation of nitrogen) contrasting with the more typical green (due to excitation of lower-altitude oxygen).

For a nice description and graphic of the colours that can be seen in aurora, click here.

Uploaded: ...

E

Description: A river of light

Uploaded: ...

F

Description: The sky on fire

Uploaded: ...

M

Description: Revision of the colour balance as, in hindsight, the original processing leans a little too far towards green (the background sky, in particular). As a bonus, this emphasises the purple nitrogen fringing at the bottom of the bright aurora band.

Uploaded: ...

Histogram

Aurora with time-lapse animation: 2019-11-29, Darren (DMach)