Friday Photo #311 – December Aurora

Photo: Northern lights reflect on Storsandnes beach, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 7, 2018. 20:15

Today is the winter solstice, the longest night of the year for us in the north – from now on we can begin to look forward to the return of the sun to Lofoten! Just a few weeks to go now…

It also means the the aurora season is half way over – with around 3 1/2 months left of northern lights dancing across the night sky of Lofoten. My first sighting of the aurora this season was August 26, yes, it starts that early, while my last sighting from the past season was April 13. So on either side of the season, the first/last aurora are visible on Lofoten about a 3-4 weeks before/after the autumnal and vernal equinoxes. It is quite a long season actually. Really the longest that any weather or seasonally related phenomenon occurs on Lofoten – encompassing the end of summer, autumn, winter, and perhaps the early days of spring, though I think April still counts as winter here other than the daylight hours.

While we’ve had some big aurora nights this year, including this photo, which at its peak that night, was filling the southern sky – perhaps the biggest aurora of the season so far this year. The cloudy and stormy weather has meant the northern lights have been a somewhat rare gift. Even with forecasts calling for clear skies we’ve ended up with clouds. And on some of the rare clear nights, the sky has remained quiet – at least by my, admittedly slightly spoiled, standards.

But when the aurora has arrived, it has often been good! This night, Friday 2 weeks ago, I took over 600 images, which is quite a lot for me. And every time the sky would seem to die out and i’d put my lens cap on and walk away, it would soon erupt again! A fantastic show for well over an hour!

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Sigma 14mm f/1.8
14mm
ISO 1600
f 1.8
4 seconds
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom