I somehow managed to time things entirely wrong this evening for catching the best of the aurora. I went out too late and the aurora was already active low in the north while I was driving to my site. I caught the tail end of this activity on camera at 21:27 (Image 1) but it had certainly been much brighter and more structured 10 minutes earlier. For most of the remaining time that I was out then I could see only very diffuse and weak aurora, sometimes appearing as just a general glow and sometimes taking on weak arc structure in a white-green colour to the naked eye (Image 2). There were occasional isolated bursts where taller pale rays appeared, especially to the north-east and north-west at either end of the arc (Images 3 and 4). However, in general I saw only very weak activity while I was out. I suspect most activity was to the north and relatively low down in the sky, and the mountain range to the north of me probably blocked my view. I was home by 23:05. Needless to say, an hour later around midnight the magnetometers dropped strongly and there was probably an excellent aurora show going on outside at that time. This was just one of those nights where I didn’t quite connect. Better luck next time.
Image 1. 21:27 UTC. Taken at: ISO = 1600, f/2.8 @ 14 mm, exposure = 13 sec. Looking north-west.
Image 2. 22:28 UTC. Taken at: ISO = 1600, f/2.8 @ 14 mm, exposure = 21 sec. Looking north.
Image 3. 22:32 UTC. Taken at: ISO = 1600, f/2.8 @ 14 mm, exposure = 21 sec. Looking north.
Image 4. 22:37 UTC. Taken at: ISO = 1600, f/2.8 @ 14 mm, exposure = 18 sec. Looking west.
