Aurora Borealis

Day 101: It finally happened, that rare coincidence of a celestial event and clear skies in the Pacific Northwest! The aurorae did not appear Tuesday night as anything more than a faint red glow which my current camera could not capture on any available setting, and Tuesday's display was supposed to be the strongest. Consequently, I almost didn't bother to check Wednesday night, but then I said to myself, "Well, ya never know." And this was what I saw. I had had the foresight to drag out my older camera (the one which no longer talks directly to the computer by a cable, necessitating use of an SD card reader), and charged up a battery. After checking the EXIF information on a previous batch of aurora photos, I set the exposure ISO 200, f2.7, and 15 seconds (the maximum the camera will allow). Any higher ISO produces a very grainy image with that particular camera. The show lasted about half an hour, gradually fading to pale green. A subsequent check in the wee hours showed nothing but stars, and I crawled back under the electric blanket, snuggled up to the nice, warm cat and caught another hour's sleep.

Red Aurora

Day 364: It may not have been nearly as spectacular as that seen in other parts of the country (notably New York and New Hampshire, where my sisters-of-the-heart enjoyed a much more colourful and intense display), but I am happy to have seen the red aurora mounting over Elbe Hills last night around 8 PM. It seemed to last about half an hour from the time I began observing it before it began to fade. I checked again between midnight and 1 AM, and there was nothing. The camera captured more colour than I could see, but even with the naked eye, the rosy glow was evident. If the phenomenon persists into the night tonight, I suspect incoming clouds will prevent me from seeing it again.

Aurorae

Day 211: The camera registered colours my eyes could barely perceive, but even what was visually apparent was the most spectacular aurora borealis I've experienced in my entire lifetime. The entire sky was filled with curtains and streamers, east to west, north to south, green and red and white. They changed gradually, almost imperceptibly, fading from view in one minute, returning over the next five, sometimes blocking stars and sometimes studded with them. I'd been getting up every hour to check, but it was not until 1:15 AM that the show started. I could not pull myself away despite the nip in the early morning air, and spent almost an hour and a half observing the phenomenon. It was only when the last streamers had paled that I went inside and crawled under the electric blanket to take the chill out of my legs and hands. Worth losing sleep over? Absolutely! And if there's a second act tonight, I'll be out there.

Addendum: You get a bonus today. Sunspot AR3664 (the culprit) can be seen in the lower left quadrant.