Aurora 8-9th November 1991

Fortunately this was a very transparent night so the lights of High Wycombe, just a few miles north, were less of a problem than usual.

Here a bright red patch can be seen in front of the Plough.

Several times a distinctive red ray formed at different places along the northern horizon. The Plough is off to the left, Castor and Pollux are to the upper right.

Here the multiple red rays are joined by a much fainter greenish patch. Red was the dominant colour throughout this display, fortunately slide film records it well.

There is no right exposure for these effects. Just try a wide range from say ten seconds to a couple of minutes. This aurora was bright enough that it could easily be overexposed. The rays have also moved slightly during the exposure blurring them out.

As the aurora strengthened it filled more of the northern sky, completely dominating this view of the Plough.

This two minute exposure shows how the aurora drowned out the stars. The greenish curtain was also much higher in the sky as the aurora moved south.