Post subject: Re: a display of color of a different kind. Aurora in AK
Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2016 10:17 pm
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Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:00 am Posts: 1322 Location: Wylie Texas but in Alaska for a while
There were several days of good aurora levels, but even with the high KPO numbers, much of the show was a white fog like display instead of a curtain with color.
But in a few of these the fog turns into a nice curtain. There is a few glimpses of some color in there. Before I leave I hope to get a trip up to Fairbanks where the display is usually better.
These are from 23 October taken at hatchers pass Alaska
( thought that I had removed the headlights from the series..... sorry)
and a second series either earlier or later that night
Post subject: Re: a display of color of a different kind. Aurora in AK
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 5:29 am
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Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:39 am Posts: 228 Location: Long Island NY, USA
Very beautiful, Wilson thank you for this thread. I've even showed the photos to my family, everyone loved them. Are those dogs part wolf? If not, what is their breed?
Post subject: Re: a display of color of a different kind. Aurora in AK
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 10:45 pm
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Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:00 am Posts: 1322 Location: Wylie Texas but in Alaska for a while
Tygurrr-I wrote:
Very beautiful, Wilson thank you for this thread. I've even showed the photos to my family, everyone loved them. Are those dogs part wolf? If not, what is their breed?
They are officially Caucasian Ovcharka They are also called Russian Shepards and Russian Bear Dogs. They are BIG BOYS. The other one is a County Corso... if he is in this thread.
Thanks for the comments. I can tell from the thread count that people read this, but it is always nice to get a comment.
Post subject: Re: a display of color of a different kind. Aurora in AK
Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 12:38 am
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Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:00 am Posts: 1322 Location: Wylie Texas but in Alaska for a while
I finally got around to checking and I think that I now have most of the shots compiled into decent gifs.
These shots are from 2016 09 28 There is one set of a nice Curtin in this set these are all from the same night, this shows how much it can change in a very short time.
This set is nice but more of a general moving mist. If you did not know that it was midnight you could think that all I shot was moving clouds.
I would love to be able to afford that stone. It would help me hold onto fond memories. I think it is nicer than most of the arora I have been able to capture so far.
Post subject: Re: a display of color of a different kind. Aurora in AK
Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2017 4:46 am
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Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:00 am Posts: 1322 Location: Wylie Texas but in Alaska for a while
This was on March 1st of 2017. It was a very cold night, and very windy. The wind was blowing so hard that the RV was rocking. As a result a lot of the shots are blurred. But if you look you can see the trees moving
just for tracking on 3/6 there were 3014 hits
Last edited by wilsonintexas on Fri Mar 24, 2017 1:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
Post subject: Re: a display of color of a different kind. Aurora in AK
Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 4:04 pm
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Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:00 am Posts: 1322 Location: Wylie Texas but in Alaska for a while
A little frustrated with this shoot. The last time I was out, it was very windy and I gave up after the camera shut down the third time. I did not think to much abut it. The KP level yesterday during the day reached 6.3 (very high) so it looked hopeful for the night. I went out around 10:00 and tried the camera in the RV and things looked ok. But when I got on top of the RV I saw that one of the power leads was broken. I made a few trips up and down the ladder in 12 degrees (F) (-11c) to try and fix it, but I could not get it fixed. At the time there was no aurora out anyhow, so I worked on a backup camera for a while. ( a few hours) checking the aurora every once in a while. I did not see anything, so around 2 AM I headed home.
As I turned in the last road to the house, there is a section where the trees block out the local lights, and I saw a decent cloud of aurora across the sky. I turned into a local airport, where I know that the view north would be ok, but I know that there was going to be a few lights to deal with.
I ended up shooting using battery in the camera, since I could not get the power cord working. I also knew that onb battery, I could not keep the camera outside, since I would have to change it and it loses a lot of power when that cold. So I propped the camera on the dashboard and did the best I could.
I eventually figured out how to get it level, but as I looked at the computer I kept pulling on the lead and messing up the camera.
I also ended up starting the RV and changing where it was pointed to try and follow the good sections. So these are not the best or most stable shots. They jump a little, and they are shot through the RV window, which add some reflections from lights.
BUT overall it was worth it. I shot until 4:30. The KP level was actually increasing, but the display was not as bright. I was also getting pretty tired. I am limited in my software to about 400 frames, so I have a few gifs.
the image linking is fighting me fot this one to work, but not the others, so I will try a second post.
And he last few
It is supposed to get up to freezing today, so I hope I can fix the power cord on the RV. The coronal hole that is providing gthe display last night should be here for a few more days. They are predicting good KP levels around 5 again, but again they peak in the afternoon here.
Post subject: Re: a display of color of a different kind. Aurora in AK
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2017 10:17 pm
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Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:00 am Posts: 1322 Location: Wylie Texas but in Alaska for a while
So frustrating we have had clear (and cold) weather for the past few weeks (odd for up here in winter, it is usually cloudy).
FINALLY we get a good coronal hole and aurora that peaks at the correct time for us, and the clouds come in. Last night was a decent display, until the clouds came in. You can imagine from the brightness what it would have been like without the clouds. It was so bright; I had to shorten the exposure. I was also reading a post that recommended not shooting at the widest aperture of a lens, that it lost some definition, so I went from an f2.8 to 3.2 (I think). BUT even at the smaller f stop, I started shooting at 6 seconds, and that is with no moon. At the peak, it was so bright; I was only shooting at 2 seconds. ANYHOW I went out last night about 11:00 and the display was already started. I started shooting decent aurora and watched the clouds roll in. I gave up at about 4:00 am. The sun was starting to come up. I am not sure if the pink in the sky in the last set is sunrise or red aurora behind clouds. Sunrise was not until 7:34, so it was probably some nice red aurora behind the clouds. GRRRRRR. I may have to find a new spot. I think that a lot of the clouds were because I was up in the mountains. It was clearer behind me. I will have to recheck my favorite spots I used in the past, and see how the RV will fit in them. I recently added a backup camera so I feel a little better about getting into tight spaces than I did before. Most of my other GIfS were at a KP of 3-4. This display was at 5 – 5.5. TONIGHT it is supposed to get up to a 6. BUT (you guessed it) we are expecting clouds tonight. We are supposed to get up to 6 tonight, right at midnight, which is when the magnetic field is aligned best for the display locally. The prediction is for a break in the clouds between 10:00 and 2:00 which may work out ok. Anyhow, sorry for the rant. I am having problems uploading the files to IMGUR. So I will try smaller files.
Here are a few new sets. This was originally 1000 frames, I had to break it in two for IMGUR
the second half of that set is failing to load in IMGUR. , and the others are working, so I am going to post this and add the other one when I get it working in IMGUR.
I called this set two, the time lapse software I use ets me create subfolders when I have t change things, I name them one, two..... so this is in the second folder for the night.
thjis is the final set, the clouds were getting so think I gave up.
the final set where the clouds were red, I thought that it might have been the sunrise. It was 4:00 and according to the charts I saw it was still night.
I try to take out the frames with car lights in them, but did not get them all.
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