Half-sky auroras - 23.9.2022 at 22.10 - 23.9.2022 at 23.50 Rovaniemi Observation number 109512

Visibility II / V

Sari Pietikäinen, Corona Borealis, Rovaniemi

Friday night's restlessness hit me and I left with the camera in the dark... :D After arriving at the shooting location, I realized that the clouds were rising ominously from the north. The camera found faint reposes behind the clouds. I photographed them and tested different camera settings for fun. At some point, the repose rose up to the crown, but still remained very dim. Looking at it with the naked eye, I couldn't distinguish colors, only gray.. In the end, the clouds and the rapid created a pretty nice atmosphere for the pictures, even though it was a bit gloomy. As midnight approached, the show began to fade, so I fled the scene.

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Additional information

Aurora brightness
- Very dim auroras
Observed aurora forms
- Corona
  
  CoronaA corona is a hand fan shaped structure, it usually forms south of the observer's zenith, most commonly consisting of rays or bands. The corona is usually the most beautiful part of the aurora show. It is bright and active, but on the other hand also short-lived.
  
  Aurora corona. Photo by Anna-Liisa Sarajärvi.
  
  Aurora corona. Photo by Merja Ruotsalainen.
  
  Corona formed from bands. Photo by Markku Ruonala.
  
  Aurora corona. Photo by Tapio Koski.
- Band
  
  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
  
  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
- Veil
  
  Veil
  Veil is the most bland and very common form of aurora. It usually covers its homogeneous dim glow over a wide area of the sky at once. Most often, the veil is seen in the calmer and quiet phase of the night after the aurora maximum as a background for other forms. The veil can also occur alone and in that case it will be quite difficult to reliably identify as an aurora, especially at a observation site which has a lot of light pollution.
  
  A similar glow of light can also be caused by airborne moisture, smoke, or a very thin layer of clouds that reflects the light that hits them. However, clouds can also be used to identify veil, especially if the middle or upper cloud appears dark against a lighter background, then it is very likely to be aurora veil if the brightness of the background sky is not due to the rising or falling Moon or Sun. When photographing, very long exposure times usually reveal the green colour of the veil auroras.
  
  Veil and rays. Photo by Esa Palmi.
  
  Red aurora veil. Photo by Marko Mikkilä.
  
  Veil. Photo by Milla Myllymaa.
  
  Aurora veil that changes color from green at the lower edge through purple to blue at the top. Photo by Jaakko Hatanpää.
  
  Dim green veil. Photo by Jarmo Leskinen.
  
  Radial aurora band surrounded by veil. Photo by Jussi Alanenpää.

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Half-sky auroras - 23.9.2022 at 22.10 - 23.9.2022 at 23.50 Rovaniemi Observation number 109512