Amazing Sky by Alan Dyer

This is a capture of a faint appearance of a STEVE arc during the Kp5 aurora display of July31/Aug 1, 2024. This was at 12:10 a.m. MDT, so on Aug 1. A faint arc or ray was visible to the eye, but the camera recorded the pinkish rays at right which are likely STEVE arcs below a more diffuse and fainter red arc which is likely a SAR, a Stable Auroral Red arc. The main green auroral arc with blue sunlit tops is across the left in the north and northeast. At far right are faint bands of green airglow, which were bright enough this night to see with the unaided eye as faint bands across the south, unusual.

So this was a very colourful sky, at least to the camera.

STEVE = Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement. STEVE is not a nomal aurora but is a horizontally flowing region of hot gas, usually white or pink. It has been known to evolve out of a SAR arc, which may be what is happening here.

This is a panorama of 5 segments, each 20-second exposures with the RF15-35mm lens at 15mm and f/2.8 and on the red-sensitive Canon Ra at ISO 2000. Stitched with PTGui. Taken from home in southern Alberta.