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Ursa Astronomical Association
Kopernikuksentie 1
00130 Helsinki
taivaanvahti(at)ursa.fi

Ursa Astronomical Association

Aurora rays - 10.2.2022 at 23.00 - 10.2.2022 at 23.25 Järvenpää Observation number 104609

Visibility III / V

Toni Veikkolainen, Keski-Uudenmaan Altair

I had received hints of the presence of northern lights in the Sky Watch moderator group. I drove to the field in Vanhankylä and there I was waiting for a rather quiet play. No colors were visible to the naked eye and the repos also contributed in part to the drowning light pollution. They did not even rise five degrees higher than the horizon. I followed my time, returned home and went to the sauna steam room.

The situation was still there after the sauna and I found that driving in Vanhaankylä takes too long, so I first went to see the situation by walking to the nearest corner on the edge of the sports field. Luckily, some of the lights in the parking lot were dark so I got some pictures of the bad place. I moved to the western end of Sipoonti to a better location, but at the same time the best blade from the repo had gone. After wading in a dead end, I got my hands on a couple more pictures until I gave up.

Pictures 1-4 were taken from the center of Järvenpää, pictures 5-6 from Vanhastakylä.



More similar observations
Additional information
  • Aurora brightness
    • Bright auroras
  • Observed aurora forms
    • Band info

      Bands are usually narrower, more twisty at the bottom, brighter, and more active than arches. Bands usually develop from arches.

      Bands can form J and U shapes, sometimes even full spirals. The corona can also arise from bands. Bands are a fairly common form of aurora.

      Aurora band. Photo by Merja Ruotsalainen.

      Aurora band. Photo by Matias Takala.

      Aurora band. Photo by Lea Rahtu-Korpela.

      Aurora bands. Photo by Lauri Koivuluoma.

      Aurora band. Photo by Matias Takala.

    • Rays info

      The raysare parallel to the lines of force of the magnetic field, i.e. quite vertical, usually less than one degree thick light streaks. The rays can occur alone or in connection with other shapes, mainly with arcs and bands. Short rays are usually brightest at the bottom but dim quickly. The longest rays, even extending almost from the horizon to the zenith, are usually uniformly bright and quite calm, and unlike the shorter rays, most often occur in groups of a few rays or alone. Rays, like bands, are a very typical form of aurora.

      Artificial light pillars, which are a halo phenomenon visible in ice mist, can sometimes be very similar to the rays of aurora. Confusion is possible especially when the lamps that cause the artificial light pillars are far away and not visible behind buildings or the forest. The nature of the phenomenon is clear at least from the photographs.

      Rays. Picture of Tom Eklund.

      Rays. Photo by Mika Puurula.

      Two beams rise from the aurora veil. Photo by Anssi Mäntylä.

      Two radial bands. Show Jani Lauanne.

      Radial band and veil. Photo by Jussi Alanenpää.

      Two rays. Photo by Aki Taavitsainen.

      It may be possible to confuse such rays with artificial light columns. Compare the image below. Picture of Tom Eklund.

      There is no aurora in this image, but all the light poles - including the wide and diffuse bar seen at the top left - are artificial light pillars born of ice mist. Photo by Sami Jumppanen.

      Aurora and artificial light pillars. All the radial shapes in the picture above are probably artificial light pillars that coincide appropriately with the aurora band. In the image below, the aurora band has shifted and does not overlap with the pillars produced by the orange bulbs. There is no orange in auroras. Photo by Katariina Roiha

  • Colors with unaided eye and other features
    • Green auroras info

      Green, seen with the naked eye, is one the most common colors of the aurora. The green color is derived from atomic oxygen.

      Green auroras. Lea Rahtu-Korpela.

      Green auroras. Photo by Juha Ojanperä.

Technical information

Nikon D3200 + Nikkor 18-55mm f / 3.5-5.6 @ 18mm f / 3.5.8 sec, ISO 800, images cropped

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