Trondra just off Shetland
Search for the Northern Lights
Welcome to my Northern lights section. Below is my blog from my adventure to see the Aurora Borealis. Click on the pages on left to see wonderful images of the Northern Lights.
November 8th 2010, Glasgow Airport
HERE`S MY STORY
We met at the Holiday Inn at Glasgow airport 17.30.
Thanks to Stevie for lift to Airport.
First of all we got a 60 minute presentation about the night sky and the Northern Lights by our guest astronomers.
Bang on time the pre -flight briefing began.
Peter Lawrence and Paul Money are our astronomers.
Talk about the stars by Paul and a talk about Auro Borealis by Peter. Very interesting .
We are told The Northern Lights are a natural phenomena which cannot be guaranteed to occur during our flight, although they have been visible on many previous outings. The intensity and brightness of the Northern Lights can vary from a gentle glow to quite dramatic curtaining effects.
Our guest astronomer advises us that we have at least a 50% chance of seeing the Northern lights. The cabin and aircraft navigation light intensity is at the sole discretion of the pilot. We need it dark. Very dark.
Peter Lawrence appears on the BBC “Sky at Night” TV programme as their observing expert. Peter is highly-regarded as a world class astrophotographer, with many of his images having been published in books and online across the world.
Now over to the Airport.
Slight mix up with the gate number but in no time we are ready to leave. Flight leaves bang on 20.00
First thing you notice is the town of Paisley below . I have window seat but I agree to rotate seats with the chap next to me. A charming gent from Lochwinnoch.
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Night photos from an airplane window seat present a whole other set of challenges. Try taking still photos from a movie camera or using the movie setting on a digital camera. For night shots, the general rules are: manual mode, wide aperture, fast shutter speed and experimentation.
My photographs were poor, in fact very poor but Peter Lawrence promises to let us use his. He had all the proper gear for the trip.
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We are served a cup of tea and a breakfast bar. I told the air steward that this was my dinner so I got another one.
We head northwards, as directly as possible, over Aberdeen and the Shetland Isles to a point in the North Atlantic between the UK and Icelandic airspace.
We have a check to make sure no one`s flash goes off. I`m handed black tape to cover the lights and screen on the back of my camera .
Now the cabin lights are dimmed even the exit lights are blacked out . Our astronomers guided us through a star studded sky, rarely seen through the polluted skies of Britain. If the conditions are right, it promised to be an unforgettable sight for all.
At first I can see nothing . Then my eyes adjust to the night sky. I can now see a sky full of stars.
Our guest astronomers guide us on our voyage of exploration and discovery through the crystal-clear winter sky and we can see the lights of the oil rigs beside the Shetland isles .
I have great memories from Shetland. Having visited the
Isles for the world famous Up HellyAa Fire Festival.
http://bairdstravel.com/SHETLANDS.aspx
The astronomers start to explain what we can see out the window . Our plane could only hold 100 and its good it was set out two per row. I`m sitting on the left and it was Paul Money `s job to explain what our side could see. Peter Lawrence did the right. The first thing we notice is Jupiter. We are told the flights are deliberately timed to avoid the moon. As the moon shines too bright and makes it harder to see the stars .
The two astronomers are providing an enthusiastic commentary on what could be seen in terms of the stars and constellations outside the plane.
The aircraft now gets near it`s target . We are now within
the projected position for catching a sighting of the Northern lights . A few minutes later we see the start of what we had all come to see .
Here is Peter Lawrence blog
The activity predictions for tonight were quite difficult to predict. The output from a coronal hole was estimated to reach Earth on the 9th or 10th of November but whether the advanced disturbance from this would reach us early wasn't known. The vertical component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), known as Bz, was positioned well south just before this flight. If Bz points north the aurora tends to be quiet. If Bz points south, the IMF and Earth's magnetic field can connect and more impressive auroral displays are likely to be seen.
As usual, the stars looked beautifully crisp and clear and during the flight. Paul Money and Pete Lawrence provided an enthusiastic commentary on what could be seen in terms of the stars, constellations and auroral activity outside the plane. Jayne Eames acted as the onboard astronomical rover on this occasion, assisting any passengers who weren't sure what was being described.
As we approached station, there was indication of activity as a definite faint glow on the horizon.
Like last night the auroral oval did appear rather distant during this flight but we were fortunate enough, on this occasion, to catch some brighter patches forming. A number of these were noted throughout our time on station as well as the hint of some faint rays.
Pete and Paul attempted to photograph the aurora and a number of the images taken on the Glasgow flight are shown below.
Aurora Borealis
The auroral arch was seen on this occasion with regions of brief activity giving bright pulses and ray structures.
It was not the bright colours shown on the tv but I knew you could only see that display from land.
The light display are governed by sun storms and are best observed at night. In northern latitudes the effect is known as the Aurora Borealis, named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind Boreas.
I really enjoyed this wonderful journey through a sky full of stars, distant galaxies & the Milky Way and we hear all about the folklore legends and we saw one of the most spectacular natural phenomena known to man . . . The Northern Lights.
Thank you very much Invergarry lodge for wonderful slideshow . Hope you had a great honeymoon in Norway.
The light displays are governed by sun storms and are best observed at night. In northern latitudes the effect is known as the aurora borealis, named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas
EXTRA INFO
Auroras, also known as northern and southern (polar) lights or aurorae (singular: aurora), are natural light displays in the sky, particularly in the polar regions, and usually observed at night. They typically occur in the ionosphere. They are also referred to as polar auroras. This is a misnomer however, because they are commonly visible between 65 to 72 degrees north and south latitudes, which place them a ring just within the Arctic and Antarctic circles. Aurorae do occur deeper inside the polar regions, but these are infrequent and often invisible to the naked eye.
In northern latitudes, the effect is known as the aurora borealis, named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas, by Pierre Gassendi in 1621. The aurora borealis is also called the northern polar lights, as it is only visible in the sky from the Northern Hemisphere, with the chance of visibility increasing with proximity to the North Magnetic Pole. (The North Magnetic Pole is currently in the arctic islands of northern Canada.) Auroras seen near the magnetic pole may be high overhead, but from farther away, they illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the Sun were rising from an unusual direction. The aurora borealis most often occurs near the equinoxes. The northern lights have had a number of names throughout history. The Cree call this phenomenon the "Dance of the Spirits." In Europe, in the Middle Ages, the auroras were commonly believed a sign from God (see Wilfried Schröder, Das Phänomen des Polarlichts, Darmstadt 1984).
Its southern counterpart, the aurora australis or the southern polar lights, has similar properties, but is only visible from high southern latitudes in Antarctica, South America, or Australasia. Australis is the Latin word for "of the South."
Auroras can be spotted throughout the world and on other planets. They are most visible closer to the poles due to the longer periods of darkness and the magnetic field.