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Amazing Collection Of Aurora Borealis Northern Lights Pictures

photon-echoes.com — I've got to go and see this phenomenon in person someday...

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  • techgnostic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16Great shots! If you're serious about seeing these in all of their glory, get up to Fairbanks, AK in August, September, November, February or March. Anywhere in Alaska or the far North will do just fine, but the further North you go the brighter they are.

    I know this has been disputed by some, but in the extreme Northern latitudes you can actually hear them. It sounds like white-noise, or static on your TV. I experienced this first-hand in Fairbanks in 2001 when they had come directly overhead.
    • PatrickFisher, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I personally have also seen the northern lights. Where I am (Edmonton, AB), we can see them about 5-6 times per year. However, we usually only get this kind of display once per year. It's amazing, but be ready to freeze your ass off. Most nights with northern lights here are about -20C (0F).
    • bluetytanium, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've seen them as south as Michigan (lower peninsula), which may or may not be easier to get to (depending on where you live).
    • z00k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3http://rapidshare.com/files/6126455/Aurora.rar

      All the pictures... Just in case the site goes down *nod*
    • rhfb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Too bad Fairbanks is usually freeze your ass cold in a few seconds. In Anchorage we get displays like this every now and again, but they are hard to see due to the city's light. Head north towards Palmer and you can see nice displays somewhat often.
    • strikerK, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2here in mid saskatchewan, away from the cities and stuff, you can see the northern lights pretty much every night. only on cloudy nights are they not visible
    • sdoownek, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1You can not, under any circumstances, hear the aurora.

      The ionosphere, where the aurora occurs, does not (read: can not) carry sound waves. It's also roughly 60 to 200 miles above the earth's surface.

      Let's assume that we're looking at 60 miles, roughly 316k feet.
      The speed of sound (at 60 miles) is roughly 940mph.
      ........

      It'd take almost 4 minutes for the "sound" of the aurora to reach the ground, and that's using 940 as a constant, which it's not.

      I live in Fairbanks, and see them every night.
    • nebunezzar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I lived in the Palmer/Wasilla area for a while and saw some nice ones, but never quite like that. The best I got while there was just green, but quite active. That just makes me want to go back again.
    • PatrickFisher, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@sdoownek

      You can't hear them directly, but you certainly can hear them. The sound may not travel, but the electricity created by them does. when is hits the atmosphere, it creates sound. I can tell you've never seen a good show of the northern lights :)
  • lhxc, on 10/12/2007, -6/+0cool pictures I ever seen
  • Bagwhat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I've only seen the northern lights from a plane. I was on my way back from India and you fly close to the pole. I woke up and looked out the window and saw a funny colored cloud and thought nothing of it. But then I got up to go to the bathroom and when I was waiting in line I looked out the window again and noticed it was moving pretty swiftly for a cloud and when I realized what it was I was shocked. It was amazingly beautiful to look at (and huge...easily stretched beyond what limited view those little pinhole windows afford). Certainly sped up the next half hour or so.
  • tvongaza, on 10/12/2007, -6/+0PatrickFisher: Only 5-6 times? I would say more then that, but because of all the light pollution in the city it seems like less. I've been out hiking in the mountains in summer and seen some amazing shows, but mid winter is definitely best.
    • PatrickFisher, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Notice what I said... "we can SEE them about 5-6 times per year."
  • jcyprich, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I saw the Northern Lights many times when I lived in Edmonton. Words can't describe the beauty of this light show. At first, its a little shocking how fast it moves across the sky. I think your better off going to Edmonton to see the lights. They may or not occur when your there, but at least you can spend some time at West Edmonton Mall. :)
    • Geekbeard, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2West Edmonton Mall: the only mall in the world that has three different Gaps in it, for no reason at all. :)
  • elck03, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5surreal
  • fety, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Usually they don't look that bright. The reason they look like that is because those pics are prolonged exposures. If you live above the US/CA border you have a good chance of seeing them but occasionally it will reach down below the US/CA border when there are some nasty solar flares happening.

    Look up the GSE Aurora Alert mailing list. You can be notified by email when the Aurora is likely to be seen in your lattitude. I also check the Auroral Activity Extrapolated from NOAA POES page http://sec.noaa.gov/pmap/ if you are in the orange, look to the sky!
  • ppinette, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Great. But let's be honest, it's not a phenomenon. The dynamics of this occurrence are quite well understood.
    • techgnostic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I think this could indeed be considered a "phenomenon." Look it up.
      http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Aphenomenon

      *any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning
      * a remarkable development
      * an observable event, especially something special

      I suppose if you think it is unremarkable, then perhaps your right.
  • DaFox, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Its not a phenomenon it happens almost every night here :/
    Sometimes it can even be annoying if your trying to sleep and its peaking though your window like a crook looking for something to steal.

    But none the less those pictures are really beautiful.
    Dugg :)
  • dusanmal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Some of my own attempts from 3/2000 in Denali Nat. Park...

    http://www.maletic.org/alaska/expedition10.html

    http://www.maletic.org/alaska/expedition9.html

    http://www.maletic.org/alaska/expedition13.html

    http://www.maletic.org/alaska/expedition22.html

    Enjoy...
  • AngryA, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Check out these galleries too:

    http://www.pbase.com/jhapeman/aurora

    http://www.buytelescopes.com/gallery/gallery.asp?sg=12
  • broomett, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Aurora Borealis!?! At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country. Localized entirely within your kitchen?!?
  • MonumentMan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1a cool thing about the Northern Lights. They actually occur in a "halo" around the poles of the earth, thus at extreme northern latitudes you have to look SOUTH to see them.
    check it:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Aurora_australis_20050911.jpg
  • nthpro, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Ya they are hard to get without a bunch of grain. Only complaint I have against the DSLR's is IMO the grain on the Long Exposures at high ISO's is much higher. I'm surprised the photographer didn't use a lower F-stop lens. I live in Anchorage and am buying a 1.8f-stop lens for the express purpose of shooting night shots with my Rebel XTi.
  • justconnor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Gotta love good photography. it takes more than just the lights to make these good photos, the guy has skill.
  • Pedlya, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Did anyone else notice what day these happened on. Sep 11 :o
  • TeamJesus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1These are awesome, cool find.
  • Mitthrawnuruodo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Excellent pictures. :)

    Too bad they're not bigger though; they'd make awesome desktops.
  • kyoorius, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Back in November 2004, we had bright aurora visible 30 minutes outside of NYC.

    http://photo.omnistep.com/aurora11072004

    Here's a panoramic stitch:

    http://photo.omnistep.com/aurora11072004/?slide=31


  • MichaelYK, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2You haven't seen the northern lights until you've been to Yellowknife, NWT. I was born and raised there. During the Fall all the way through spring, you can always catch them on a clear sky. Quite mesmerizing! Here's a gallery with pictures taken from my home town.

    http://www.looknorth.ca/aurora/gallery.htm

    There are low resolution, but you'll get the idea and see how huge they can get.
  • djtripp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This guys aurora photos are spectacular:

    http://www.aurorahunter.com

    I like his work, and I like the story behind the photos.
  • pius, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@sdoownek

    I spent a winter in the wilderness in Alaska (35 miles north of Tanana). I did hear the northern lights once. The "swoosh"-sound perfectly matched with the movements of the lights. On this website you find theories about how this could happen:
    http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f00/web3/gallagher3.html
    "Observers claim to hear sound when northern lights appear. The height of the northern lights is 80-130 km above the Earth, in an environment which is almost a vacuum, making it impossible for the sounds to come directly from the auroras. There are several theories regarding this. One theory is that the sound may be coming from discharges in the electrical fields on Earth which occur during an aurora. Another theory is that the electromagnetic energy produced could cause vibrations in certain objects, such as frozen pine needles or loose hair, causing the hissing, swishing or crackling noises heard by spectators. In a laboratory, it was tested that even wearing a pair of glasses could raise ones threshold by 3 or 4 decibels. There is even a theory that the sound is merely a psychological reaction"

    (Sorry for my English I'm Swiss)
    • sdoownek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I find it odd that there's such a sense of romanticism surrounding the aurora---so much so that people create sound within their own mind. This is proven, year after year, by the tourists who claim to "hear" it, while those of us who see it every winter night don't.

      I'm also interested to hear why you spent a winter 35 miles north of Tanana.
    • pius, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@sdoownek
      I spent the winter there together with a friend from school. A friend from Tanana gave us 15 sled dogs, two sleds and let us use his trap line cabin. I did it because I wanted to experience the beauty of an Alaskan winter. We spent a great time out there in the silence.

      Sorry, but I just happen to believe in this theory:
      "Another theory is that the electromagnetic energy produced could cause vibrations in certain objects, such as frozen pine needles or loose hair, causing the hissing, swishing or crackling noises heard by spectators."

      Before I heard it the first and only time, I didn't know that other people did claim that northern lights can be heard. I believe that hearing northern lights has a very low probability. But why should it be impossible if your standing at the right spot and all the factors are right?

  • thewebguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1as if the natural world had been turned upside down

    lord mandrake
  • Van3ck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1These shots are great. I just wish he would post high-res images. These would look amazing as a wallpaper on our big screen monitors here at work.
  • mrzrb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Absolutely Gorgeous
  • VRWCJoy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1As a Photographer myself, all I can say is WOW...
  • Winblade, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I can't and will never understand the fascination people have with the northern lights, okay they are really beautiful to rest your eyes on now and again just as a nice sunset but when when you see them 20+ times every winter it sort of looses it's charm.

    Really nice pictures though.

    And to those wondering if it's true that you can hear the northern lights, it's true.
    They have a sort of crackling sound, really soothing to fall a sleep to when your lying cuddled up in your sleeping bag.
  • dextermanas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Can't someone just take a video of it and show that the aurora does indeed make sounds?
  •  

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