Aurora Borealis

Even at night, the Sun provides entertainment with the Northern Lights.  As the sun approached solar max, auroral activity increased.

John Mahony snapped this image of the Aurora Borealis about 4 AM on October 22, 1999.  This is a 45 second exposure on Kodak Royal Gold 1000 film, 50 mm f/1.8 lens.  The photo taken from Wolf Park just north of Battleground.

November 5, 2001 brought the best aurora display to be seen in this area for a very long time.  It all started for most of us a little after 9PM.  A phone call from John Mahony that the aurora was bright and easily seen this early was quite promising.  A phone tree was started and soon we were all outside viewing the display.  The display lit up the entire northern sky at times and lasted most of the night.

This first set of pictures was taken by Steven Lichti north of West Lafayette, IN at about 10:30PM.  This is a sampling of his photos. 


ISO 320, F2.0, 29.29 second exposure


ISO 320, F2.0, 8.00 second exposure


ISO 320, F2.0, 8 second exposure

John Mahony took these pictures at the Prairie Grass Observatory.  These photos were (approximately) 10 second exposures on Kodak Royal Gold 1000 film, 50mm f/1.8 lens.

In addition to taking these wonderful pictures, John and Russ Kaspar both noticed the distinct smell of ozone that night, a phenomenon that on rare occasions accompanies strong auroral displays.
Last Updated: November 10, 2001