Sunspot AR3364, i.e. the "responsible", through its ionized particle emissions, for the extraordinary aurora on the night of May 10th, taken in H-Alpha on May 11th, 2024.
Tecnosky Acro 152 mm with Daystar Quark Chromosphere. ZWO ASI 174 MM.
Date: Saturday 11th May 2024, NZT
Location: Twizel, New Zealand. 44 degrees south latitude
The most incredible display of southern lights I’ve ever seen. This image was taken around 9pm during the first flare up of the night. The lights were so bright they completely washed out the Milky Way, from a bortle 1 site.
The Giant sunspot AR3664 is chasing the pyramid of Khafre
The Pyramid of Khafre is the second largest pyramid in Egypt, and is only 10 meters smaller than the Great Pyramid. The peculiarity of the pyramid is that the remains of the original claddings are preserved in the upper part.
The incredible, once in a generation display of the northern lights above Cwm Yr Eglwys in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Captured around 2330 local time on Friday May 10.
To witness this was absolutely mindblowing.
Captured on Sony A7RIV with the Viltrox 16mm f1.8 lens.
It's a pleasure to share with you this double arch panorama captured the Friday 10th of May 2024 during the extraordinary aurora event from Prades, at the south of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain), as south as 41ºN.
Best regards,
Aleix Roig
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This panoramic image, composed of 12 individual images, shows the SAR (Stable Auroral Red arc) as well as the Milky Way as it was starting to rise above the horizon. The connection point is the Baltasana Communication Station, a strategic point of view with sights all over the south of Catalonia.
The night of the 10th of May 2024 an extraordinary aurora event made it possible to see the northern lights from the southern skies. I climbed up to the top of the highest mountain in my region (Prades, Tarragona), Tossal de la Baltasana, 1.203 meters above sea level, to stare at the dancing auroras. I was overwhelmed by what I saw. A colorful show that I had never seen before at this latitude. Living as low as 41ºN (south of Catalonia, north east of Spain), made this event a very rare occasion to see the aurora with the naked eye.
This past winter I've had the privilege to travel to Norway to see the auroras. I can now confirm that this time, from home, it has not been that far from what we saw last November 2023 in Tromsø.
On the right side of the image, low in the horizon facing the east, we can see the light pollution from Barcelona and Tarragona, while on the left side facing the northwest we can see several catalan villages and the red lights of the wind parks.
Image details:
12x5" 4000ISO f/1.7
Data acquisition: 10th of May 2024 23:40 UTC
Location: Tossal Baltasana, Prades (Tarragona, Catalonia - Spain).
Darkness: 21.10 mag/arcsec2
Equipment:
Lens: Sigma Art 24mm
Camera: SonyA7S mod
Aleix Roig - Prades (Tarragona, Spain), May 2024.
Re: Submissions: 2024 May
Posted: Sun May 12, 2024 9:06 pm
by Julien Looten
A Historic Night: Northern Lights at Étretat (France)
Copyright: Julien LOOTEN
The euphoria of Friday night into Saturday has faded. After two sleepless nights photographing the nocturnal sky, rest proved beneficial. I finally had the time to process the dozens of panoramas taken during the aurora evening.
Recent solar eruptions have caused a significant geomagnetic storm (northern lights), the strongest since 2003... The G5 geomagnetic storm threshold (KP 9, meaning maximum) was reached in the middle of the night... Scientists are already calling it one of the most powerful storms of the modern era...
These auroras began to be visible around 10:30 PM, even before nightfall... From then on, they were visible to the naked eye until dawn... Without interruption... They were visible everywhere in France, and even further south, such as in Namibia...
Throughout the night, I photographed these auroras in many places, but the most striking was at the cliffs of Etretat... I live quite far from these cliffs, about a 2-hour drive away. Since the beginning of the year, I've made the trip twice, only to return empty-handed... This time, I succeeded... A dream come true.
So here is a panorama composed of 25 images. Stitching the panorama was not an easy task, given the rapid movement of the auroral pillars and the difficulty in finding landmarks between photos. The panorama spans from southwest (left) to northeast, covering 180 degrees, once again demonstrating the magnitude of the aurora at that time. The colors range from pink to purple, through blue, while a greenish band is visible lower towards the horizon. In the upper right corner, you can also see the Milky Way (our galaxy) and the constellation of Cygnus. The greenish glows to the right are due to the light pollution from Étretat. The foreground corresponds to the cliffs of Étretat, one of the natural wonders of the French territory (latitude 49.43). On the left, another photographer is at work.
The panorama consists of 25 images, taken with an exposure of 4 seconds, an aperture of f/2, with a Sigma 28mm lens mounted on a Canon 6D Astrodon. The stitching was done using Autopano/Hugin/Photoshop software.
Re: Submissions: 2024 May
Posted: Sun May 12, 2024 10:45 pm
by iro
Another Friday Aurora...
Two of the panoramas taken at night from Friday to Saturday, near Wrocław/PL. Emotions were high, at times I lacked a cool head and not everything went as planned, but it was probably the most beautiful aurora I've ever seen - so different - than the Icelandic ones, but oh, how colorful...
Here is an image of the moonset during the geomagnetic storm on the night of May 10 to 11.
The photo was taken in France from Le Cap Gris Nez.
The moon was less than 10% illuminated.
I like this photo because we can clearly see the different interactions between the electrons in the plasma and the nitrogen and oxygen in our atmosphere.
I was aware of the high level of solar activity over the last few days. As part of a discussion group of astrophotographers, I quickly realized that what was going to happen tonight was going to be exceptional. I headed for the highest mountain in the area, to maximize my chances of seeing an aurora borealis.
I expected to see a small greenish-red spot on the horizon. But when I got there, I quickly realized that the little red and green speck of my imagination would turn into a 180-degree firework display.
The sky literally burst into flames and I had to stay focused to avoid running around like a headless chicken. Having never seen such a phenomenon in my life, and especially not at the latitude I was at (47° North), I was overwhelmed by a wave of emotion, from shivers to laughter to tears of joy.
May 11, 2024 was a special day for me, because right at midnight on my birthday, the sky was on fire. I couldn't have wished for a better time to turn 40. And that's when I took this photo, which has a very special flavor for me.
Canon Eos ra
Samyang 14mm
Panoramic photo of 5 individual shots
Sunspot AR3664
Posted: Mon May 13, 2024 6:07 pm
by Efrain Morales
Sunspot AR3664 and its prominences on May 13th. Sunspot AR3664 is over 15 Earths wide, has unleashed its most powerful solar flares yet in the last few days.
Re: Submissions: 2024 May
Posted: Mon May 13, 2024 7:36 pm
by a.carrozzi
A photo of the extraordinary aurora borealis above the Po Valley on the night of 10 May, at the peak of activity. The different colours are related to the excitation of the different atoms: the red and green are due to the excitation of oxygen, while the blue-violet hues are due to nitrogen.
The brightness was such that even the ground takes on a slightly reddish colour, reflecting the light of the aurora.
The landscape lights extend from Reggio Emilia (on the left) to Modena (on the right)
Panorama of five 6s shots at f/2.8 3200 ISO with Canon EOS 6D and Samyang 14mm.
Here is one of my images from the night of May 10th featuring the strongest portion of the aurora over the skyline of Vancouver. This is a single frame from a timelapse video shot on the Sony A7R and a Sigma 14mm f1.4 lens.
Re: Submissions: 2024 May
Posted: Tue May 14, 2024 2:33 am
by andrea_girones
Auroral Mountain top
I was watching the wild aurora in my backyard the night of May 10/11th when I noticed this big white auroral cloud, right in front of me, growing, pulsating, and rapidly rising into the sky above.
I made sure the camera was pointing the right way but frankly I could not take my eyes away from this evolving, flashing and rapdly expanding auroral display. It first took the shape of an auroral Phoenix then the bird's heard expanded and turned into this glorious and colourful Auroral mountain peak.
The naked eye cannot see these colours but the shapes and movement were clearly visible.
From the Ottawa Backyard
SIngle exposure Nikon Z6ii ISO 3200 1.3s exposure. Saturation and contrast added in Photoshop.
Norse legends hold that the Aurora Borealis were the reflection of the armour and shields of the Valkyrie as they flew fallen warriors to Valhalla. I can see it, can you?
Shot with a Sony A7R and Sigma 14mm F1.4 lens from Vancouver, Canada on the night of May 10th at 11pm.
Re: Submissions: 2024 May
Posted: Tue May 14, 2024 7:15 am
by deepskyjourney
Clash of the Cosmos: 6 Hours with the Fighting Dragons of Ara
Venturing deep into the heart of the Dragons of Ara, I captured the majestic NGC 6188 and its celestial companions NGC 6164/6165 (Dragon’s egg) in about 6 hours of dedicated observation, exploring this vibrant region known for its dramatic dust lanes and lively star-forming activities. These images not only showcase the raw beauty of distant nebulae but also reflect the powerful dynamics of creation and destruction in our universe. Join me in marvelling at these cosmic dragons, guardians of stellar nurseries, where stars are born from chaos!
Stats for nerds:
Telescope: RedCat 51 II
Camera: ASI2600MM Pro
Mount: NEQ6-Pro
Dates: May 12 - 13, 2024
Frames:
Antlia 3nm Narrowband H-alpha 36 mm: 24×300″(2h) (gain: 100.00) -10°C bin 1×1
Antlia 3nm Narrowband Oxygen III 36 mm: 24×300″(2h) (gain: 100.00) -10°C bin 1×1
Antlia 3nm Narrowband Sulfur II 36 mm: 24×300″(2h) (gain: 100.00) -10°C bin 1×1
Corona Australis contains one of the closest star-forming regions to the Solar System—a dusty dark nebula known as the Corona Australis Molecular Cloud, lying about 430 light years away. Within it are stars at the earliest stages of their lifespan.
lens Samyang135 f/2
filter l QEF de Optolong
SQM 20.8
cameraZWOasi2600mc
62 x 180 secs
atemajac de Brizuela Jalisco
photographer Emmanuel Delgadillo
Captured these shots in the early hours of May 11th in Webster, NY. While we typically can see some aurora a few times a year over the lake, it is never anything like this. The views were stunning, even by eye.
Shot with my Nikon Z6 with a 24mm lens F/4. 10 second exposures with low-mid range ISO. Processed in photoshop.
1/6
2/6
3/6
Aurora Over Lake Ontario Part 2
Posted: Tue May 14, 2024 4:05 pm
by PhotosHyperuranios
Captured these shots in the early hours of May 11th in Webster, NY. While we typically can see some aurora a few times a year over the lake, it is never anything like this. The views were stunning, even by eye.
Shot with my Nikon Z6 with a 24mm lens F/4. 10 second exposures with low-mid range ISO. Processed in photoshop.
R: 19 Light de 600 segundos, 19 Darks, 40 Flats y 40 Bias
G: 13 Light de 600 segundos, 13 Darks, 40 Flats y 40Bias
B: 11 Light de 600 segundos, 11Darks, 40 Flats y 40 Bias
L: 24 Light de 600 segundos, 24 Darks, 40 Flats y 40Bias
que hacen un total de 11 horas y 10 minuto
TEMPERATURA: -10 GRADOS
TUBO: FSQ 106 ED
CCD: SBIG ST-8300M
MONTURA: CGEM
CCD guiar: QHY5II
LUGAR: LAS INVIERNAS (GUADALAJARA
Bueno, ya me dirás que te parece todo, espero que te guste.
Un saludo
jose
I called this photo "Hyperloop" - I think you know why
Active region AR 3664 - creator of biggest aurora event from last week - slowly dissapearing from visible Sun shield. But still it is very interesting - showing us beautiful pasma loops chained in extremly strong magnetic field (coronal rain)
Photo made on Monday 13th of May 2024 - around 14UTC
Equipment:
Bresser Messier 152/1200 with TeleVue barlow x2 (LUNT mod)
ZWO ASI 178 MM-C camera with etalon from Lunt solar telescope
Credits:
Łukasz Sujka ( https://www.facebook.com/lukasz.sujka.astronomy/ )
Story
On the night of May 10-11, 2024, the sky came alive with a mesmerizing display of Northern lights. The celestial spectacle had been building up since the 10th, with multiple alerts from aurora forecast apps and specialized social networks. According to their predictions, the auroras would grace the heavens early in the morning between 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM.
I had planned to wake up at 2:00 AM and make my way to the Etretat cliffs, just 45 minutes from my home. However, fate had other plans. Just before retiring for the night, I impulsively checked the northern sky with my smartphone's camera. To my astonishment, at 10:30 PM, the sky still glowed with the lingering crepuscular light of the sunset, but there was something more—a deep red glow that seemed to defy the early hour.
Without hesitation, I set off for Etretat. The anticipation of witnessing this celestial dance was too irresistible. As I stood on the cliffs, the Northern lights swirled above me, painting the night canvas with hues of green, pink, red and violet. It was a magical moment—one that etched itself into my memory and my camera forever.
Technical details
Panorama of 8 photos of 6s, f/2.0, 800 ISO, camera Canon R6 mk II, lens Sigma 14 mm/1.8 Art
About the author
Member of the Société Astronomique du Havre. I am also the « inventor » of the NPF rule, now used by many nightscape photographers to set the exposure time with no star trail.
Re: Submissions: 2024 May
Posted: Wed May 15, 2024 2:43 pm
by Vincent_Chang
AR 3664, Sunspot Behind the Aurora
Click to play embedded YouTube video.
Dear Editors,
I hope you are well.
I would like to submit this solar animation video for consideration for the Astronomy Picture of the Day. It showcases active eruptions from the giant sunspot AR 3664, which was the source for the spectacular aurora show on May 10, 2024.
Composed of 256 ten-second videos captured on May 13, 2024, as AR 3664 transitioned to the solar edge, it illustrates the Sun's violent activity, featuring continuous prominence eruptions from this magnificiant sunspot.
Technical details:
Date: May 13, 2024, 08:22AM – 10:17AM (EDT)
Location: Boston, MA
Frames: 256 frames at 25 frames per second
Telescope: Lunt 100 THa
Camera: Touptek ATR2600M
Mounts: Astro-Physics 900GTO
Software: AutoStakkert!, ImPPG, Photoshop
Thank you very much for considering my submission.
Best regards,
Wenhan Chang
Re: Submissions: 2024 May
Posted: Wed May 15, 2024 6:28 pm
by carlosdn
On May 11, 2024, at 00:04, I was taking wide-field sky photographs in Cortaderas, Catamarca Province, Argentina. In the image, you can see the red color produced by some southern auroras that occurred due to the strong solar activity that day. I was really surprised because at that latitude, it's impossible to observe such a phenomenon
The typical southern hemisphere sky can be appreciated in the photograph, with the Southern Cross, Alpha and Beta Centauri, and the two neighboring galaxies, the Magellanic Clouds
Camara 6D Lente Canon 16/35mm in 16mm
20s/f2.8/ISO 3600
AR3364 in H-Alpha - May 11th 2024 by Alessandro Carrozzi, su Flickr
