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Aurora from Home-Sept 16 Panorama #2-Circular.jpg
This is an all-sky 360° panorama from the horizon at the edges, to the zenith at centre, taking in the entire sky during an outburst of a particularly colourful aurora on September 16, 2024. This was from home in southern Alberta. This was taken immediately after All-Sky Panorama #1, so the aurora changed a lot in a couple of minutes.
North is at bottom; south at top; east to the right; west to the left. Note the aurora's coronal outburst is converging at the magnetic zenith south of (above) the actual zenith which is dead centre here.
The numbers were indicating a Kp index of 8 this night, though the peak was earlier in the evening before it got dark at my location. The aurora was well underway in the darkening twilight, but underwent a major outburst at about 9:25 pm MDT when I shot this panorama.
The brightest part of the display captured here lasted only a few minutes before the show settled down into fainter pulsating patches and curtains.
But for a few minutes the curtains converged to the magnetic zenith at top left to produce a coronal outburst that was bright to the eye, and pinkish-white here. The outburst was notable for its strong pinks over much of the sky, likely from nitrogen molecules glowing, indicative of a very energetic rain of electrons. Also present are the more usual yellow-greens from oxygen, and briefly at right to the southeast some strong oxygen reds. The bright object at right is the almost Full Moon rising. Arcing across the south at top is a diffuse blue-green band, which might be a proton aurora with hydrogen-beta emission. The sky is blue from moonlight. A more normal green curtain of aurora is low in the north at bottom.
At centre are the Summer Triangle stars, with Deneb (below) and Vega (at centre) and Altair (above). At bottom low in the north is the Big Dipper, Polaris and Cassiopeia. The light at top left in the yard is another camera shooting a time-lapse.
Technical:
This is a panorama of 12 segments (at 30° spacin
North is at bottom; south at top; east to the right; west to the left. Note the aurora's coronal outburst is converging at the magnetic zenith south of (above) the actual zenith which is dead centre here.
The numbers were indicating a Kp index of 8 this night, though the peak was earlier in the evening before it got dark at my location. The aurora was well underway in the darkening twilight, but underwent a major outburst at about 9:25 pm MDT when I shot this panorama.
The brightest part of the display captured here lasted only a few minutes before the show settled down into fainter pulsating patches and curtains.
But for a few minutes the curtains converged to the magnetic zenith at top left to produce a coronal outburst that was bright to the eye, and pinkish-white here. The outburst was notable for its strong pinks over much of the sky, likely from nitrogen molecules glowing, indicative of a very energetic rain of electrons. Also present are the more usual yellow-greens from oxygen, and briefly at right to the southeast some strong oxygen reds. The bright object at right is the almost Full Moon rising. Arcing across the south at top is a diffuse blue-green band, which might be a proton aurora with hydrogen-beta emission. The sky is blue from moonlight. A more normal green curtain of aurora is low in the north at bottom.
At centre are the Summer Triangle stars, with Deneb (below) and Vega (at centre) and Altair (above). At bottom low in the north is the Big Dipper, Polaris and Cassiopeia. The light at top left in the yard is another camera shooting a time-lapse.
Technical:
This is a panorama of 12 segments (at 30° spacin
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