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

Ursa Astronomical Association

Quiet aurora band - 18.9.2023 at 23.25 - 18.9.2023 at 23.45 Vantaa, Pähkinärinne Observation number 118779

Visibility II / V

Paula Wirtanen, Ursa (Helsinki)

The northern lights as seen from the upstairs terrace, facing northwest and north. Unfortunately, taken with a cell phone. Quite dim, but quite excellent in a fairly wide area and even in the light pollution of the southern sky.

The weather was clear, but a bit foggy.



More similar observations
Additional information
  • Aurora brightness
    • Dim 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.

    • Veil info

      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.

  • 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.

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