Second Chance of Possible Northern Lights

muckish

There was a large sustained M9 class flare this morning which is racing towards us and should hit the earth around 2pm tomorrow give or take a few hours. So the possibility of another Aurora tomorrow evening is quite high, but there are a few indicators to look out. While last night's aurora was quite intense and visible for this latitude eventhough the KP value only reached 5 (on a scale of 0-9), The Interplanetary Magnetic Field (the other IMF), was tilted strongly south. This has the effect of cancelling out the Earth's north pointing magnetic field and cancelling each other out. This allow a hole to open where the solar wind can pour into and react with the Earth atmosphere. Hence stronger Aurorae. So ideally a KP5 will be visible on the horizon from the coast of Donegal, but a strong south IMF will increase the potential of a KP5 event. A KP7 event should be visible overhead and should show more of the characteristic structures of an Aurora.

Penfailed

A question, if I may - when taking photos of the northern lights, you need to take it on a long exposure (the most we can get out of our camera is 15 seconds). What's the deal with the ISO number - better to be higher or lower? Aperture - higher or lower? I'm a complete novice with a camera.

homer simpson

Penfailed wrote: »

A question, if I may - when taking photos of the northern lights, you need to take it on a long exposure (the most we can get out of our camera is 15 seconds). What's the deal with the ISO number - better to be higher or lower? Aperture - higher or lower? I'm a complete novice with a camera.

the lower the aperture (f number) the better because the more light it Will let in. Iso th e higher the better again the more light it'll let in,some some cameras Will only work well up to a certain isothen th photos Will become grainy its trail an error really. 15 seconds should b long enough exposure , it all depends on the camera though:)

muckish

Penfailed wrote: »

A question, if I may - when taking photos of the northern lights, you need to take it on a long exposure (the most we can get out of our camera is 15 seconds). What's the deal with the ISO number - better to be higher or lower? Aperture - higher or lower? I'm a complete novice with a camera.

Some advice here in the weather pictures thread http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056518488

What sort of camera have you?

The quicker the shutter speed the more of the structure of the aurora you will capture. Anything longer than 15 seconds exposure will result in blurring of the colours etc.
My best advice would be arrive at your viewing spot early and start taking photos and play about with the setting untill you get the right combination of ISO and shutter speed, (keep aperature open fully and don't change it). Don't wait untill the "action" starts and then panic into trying out settings etc. Be prepared, know your camera, (that includes knowing where the buttons are in the dark!), and enjoy the show. As Homer pointed out there is a lot of trial and error involved; keep reviewing the shot in playback and adjust accordingly.

muckish

Asa Tart Guru wrote: »

How far is this from ballybofey

About an hour and 30 minutes

Penfailed

Cheers for the advice guys.

muckish wrote: »

What sort of camera have you?

A Canon Powershot SX200IS

muckish wrote: »

Anything longer than 15 seconds exposure will result in blurring of the colours etc.

Some of the more spectacular shots I've seen of last nights aurora were exposures of around four or more minutes...

slimboyfat

The Kp index is back up to 5 today again, so we could be in with another chance tonight, weather permitting.

danniemcq

do you have to get far outta letterkenny to see this? no car so kinda stuck within a small radius

firemansam4

Having a look at the met eireann forecast, it doesn't look promising!

slimboyfat

danniemcq wrote: »

do you have to get far outta letterkenny to see this? no car so kinda stuck within a small radius

Best away from as much light pollution as possible.

danniemcq

slimboyfat wrote: »

Best away from as much light pollution as possible.

Yeah figured...

Anyone know where the best place to cut the power would be?

you know just for reference....

Ethics11

Hi

Heading up to Derry for the weekend and was thinkin of heading up to Malin Head one of the evenings to see if I could catch a glimpse of the lights.

Sorry, I'm a complete novice, but would anyone have any idea what the chances are of seeing them this Friday or Saturday night? Is it worth going up to Malin Head? Is the forcast good? Is there anywhere better than Malin Head to view them? Bare in mind I don't know the area at all and will be driving there in the dark.

Thanks a million

E11

uck51js9zml2yt

Would I see it from around stranolar

TPD

Anyone in Letterkenny likely to be driving north at short notice next week for a viewing? I'd love to tag along. I (will) have my camera with me, but I've no car.

donegal_road

Im heading up on Saturday evening, all going to plan. You can come along with us. Will let you know Friday for sure

TPD

donegal_road wrote: »

Im heading up on Saturday evening, all going to plan. You can come along with us. Will let you know Friday for sure

Cheers for the offer, but I'm in Buncrana over the weekend picking up my camera. Hoping I haven't missed all the good sights already :P

slimboyfat

What people have to understand is in order to see the Northern Lights, the Kp index http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/3, see here as Extreme: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9, needs to be at 5 or above, another major factor is, there needs to be fairly clear skies, so if on the day you plan to go, if neither of these factors ( kp indes 5 or above and clear skies ) are in place, you have little or no chance of seeing them and and are wasting your time.

TPD

Yup, by 'short notice' I meant 5 minutes, if the conditions are right.

firemansam4

Still very cloudy and rainy outside, Looks like tomorrow evening from 8.00pm might be clear for a few hours, I wonder what the chances of the KP index being high tomorrow?

muckish

ANy clear skies anywhere in the county???

ednwireland

muckish wrote: »

ANy clear skies anywhere in the county???

small hole appeared above us just now black skies (cant see northern horizon from house though

donegal_road

I can see the glow of the lights of Derry on the distant horizon, does this count? :pac:

Daniel O Donnel

Gaps appearing in cloud now. The same glow is in the sky as Sun. night as well so if it clears further it could be game on.

muffler

Nearest I got was holding a Heineken bottle up to a light in the Rosses bar about an hour ago

Flibbles

So did anyone manage to see through the clouds? Was up at Hornhead to try and see but constant clouds meant I saw nothing.

Penfailed

From what I can gather, there was a big crowd up at Ballyliffen last night - the car-park was full! Don't think they had any joy though.

Flibbles

Saw on the news there was another big flare, chances of another aurora tonight?

homer simpson

Flibbles wrote: »

Saw on the news there was another big flare, chances of another aurora tonight?

There was a very good chance last night to see them, but I think cloud cover got in the way (typical) If you search for the Donegal weather channel on facebook they do a northern lights update when there is a chance to see them, seems to be accurate enough.

Flibbles

Cheers

mikom

You'll find that most of the Donegal dealers can supply you with Northern lights most of the year round......


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