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

Ursa Astronomical Association

All-sky aurora - 1.3.2017 at 20.00 - 2.3.2017 at 02.30 Skibotn, Norja Observation number 61974

Visibility V / V


Well, again, a spring Northern Lights trip to the north would have been made.

Immediately on the first night the whole of Finland seemed to be covered with clouds and the gauges showed a pretty good chance of northern lights for the coming night, a quick glance showed northern Norway was the nearest clear area and the decision was suddenly made, do not believe in the end, but somewhere far on the horizon there was a small reddish echo of the sun and as soon as I landed on the shore of the Arctic Ocean the clouds stopped with a knife and the sky was clear. along the shores of the fjord always varying the location and I waited for the start of a decent show. decent crowns slammed on top of it, but still that night was a bit disappointing even though it was great. Sometimes after two I went to drive back towards Raattamaa and a couple of times I had to take an hour's nap on the way, I simply didn't keep my eyes open.



More similar observations
Additional information
  • Aurora brightness
    • Very bright auroras
  • Colors with unaided eye and other features
    • Red coloration of the shapes lower edge info

      Red lower edge visible with the naked eye. The bands which are starting to level up their activity and are green colored have quite often a narrow red lower edge. This is the most common form of red color which is derived from molecular nitrogen.

      Aurora band with purple lower edge. Photo by Ilmo Kemppainen.

      The low hanging brightest aurora band is colored red at the lower edge. Photo by Tero Ohranen.

      Narrow purple reddish tones at the lower part of this aurora band. Photo by Merja Ruotsalainen.

      Purple band at the bottom. Photo by Panu Lahtinen.

    • 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.

    • Violet auroras info

      Usually in Lapland or even in the south you can see purple auroras in stronger aurora shows. The most common color in auroras along with green and red.

  • Observed aurora forms
    • 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.

    • 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

    • 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.

    • Corona info

      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.

    • Arc info

      ARC The arcs are wider than the bands and do not fold as strongly. The arcs are normally neither very bright nor active.

      The arc is probably the most common form of aurora. When aurora show is a calm arc in the low northern sky it often doesn’t evolve to anything more during night. In more active shows the arc is often the first form to appear and the last to disappear.

      The lower edge of the arc is usually sharp but the upper edge can gradually blend into the background sky. As activity increases rays and folds normally develop, and the arcs turn gradually into bands.

      An aurora arc runs across the picture. Vertical shapes are rays. Photo by Atacan Ergin.

      Aurora Arc. Photo by Mauri Korpi.

      Aurora Arc. Photo by Anna-Liisa Sarajärvi.

      Aurora Arc. Photo by Matti Asumalahti.

Comments: 9 pcs
Pirjo Koski - 17.3.2017 at 23.00 Report this

Aivan_uskomatonta_settiä! Onneksi olkoon :)

Johan on ollut komeaa, vau!

Erkki Antikainen - 19.3.2017 at 12.29 Report this

Upeat kuvat reposista vuonomaisemissa! Huomasimme saman ilmiön syksyllä,kun olimme 2 vk. Kilpisjärvellä. Jos Suomen puolella satoi tai oli pilvistä, niin Skibotteniin laskeutuessa säätila muuttui täysin päinvastaiseksi!

Raija Ollikainen - 21.3.2017 at 09.46 Report this

Boaaah, mitä kuvia! Jo minä olen odottanutkin tätä reissun lisäsaalista. Sitä käytiin sitten ihan ulkomailla asti kuvia hakemassa. Mahtavia revontulia, mutta myös erinomainen kokoelma erilaisia, hienoja kuvakulmia reposista noissa jylhissä maisemissa.

Kyllä, olet varmasti tehnyt monia täysin älyvapaita reissuja. :D Muistan mm. tarinat pukeutumisesta kuvaamaan lähtemistä varten 40 asteen pakkasessa. Kiitos ja kumarrus näistäkin ajokilometreistä, valvomisista, yöllisistä könyämisistä kivikossa ja upeista kuvista - linkki lähtee taas Keski-Eurooppaan. :)

Mikko Lönnberg - 21.3.2017 at 09.59 Report this

Kiitokset kommenteista.

Olen myös itsekin tuon tuon huomannut,että lämmin meri lykkää noita pilviä pois.Saman huomaa syksyisin ihan täällä Porissakin,mantereella kun on pilvistä,niin rannassa onkin jo selkeää..

Mikko Lönnberg - 21.3.2017 at 19.11 Report this

Kiitos Raija.

Olen monesti näillä reissuillani miettinyt,mitäköhän ihan normaalit ihmiset,jotka ei ole seonneet revontuliin,mahtais tästä touhusta ajatella ?? No,toiset jaksaa touhuta hevosten kanssa,minä revontulien :) 

Raija Ollikainen - 22.3.2017 at 01.49 Report this

Hmmm... mistähän niitä normaaleita löytyis, joilta vois kysyä? :D Tuli mieleen, että onhan niitä toisen sortin bongareitakin, jotka hälyn saatuaan matkustavat kiireesti vaikka tuhansia kilometrejä ulkomailta Suomeen nähdäksen kiikarinsa päässä jonkun pienen länsisiperialaisen pusikkosirkuttajan, jota ei ole ikinä ennen tavattu EU:ssa. Eikä niille bongareille jää välttämättä edes kuvia muistoksi, mutta ne on nähneet sen ja on onnellisia. Ja alkavat odottaa seuraavan sirkuttajan näkemistä jossain päin maailmaa. :)

Esa Palmi - 22.3.2017 at 11.09 Report this

Hienoja kuvia. Skibotn on kyllä mukava tukikohta tarkkailuun. Kilpiseltä majoitus ja liikkuma-aluetta riittää.

Satu Juvonen - 22.3.2017 at 13.07 Report this

Hyvä Mikko, upeaa!

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