Northern Lights

It's been a beautiful day, almost cloud-free, except for a period in the mid-morning. We've been working in the garden, and then visited someone for afternoon tea.

This evening the air is very still and the sky is still clear. I went outside to check that the intermittent low rumbles I could hear were actually from the military bombing range at Cape Wrath. Indeed, they were, although I couldn't see any flashes. The bangs must be rather loud, as it's some 30-odd miles to Cape Wrath from Tongue.

When I looked northwards, I was delighted to see my first sight of the Northern Lights. The photos I had seen previously, and a distant view through an aircraft window, did not do them justice! It was really amazing to see the patterns moving about and the glow was much brighter than I expected. Perhaps we will see even better examples during the dark winter nights ahead.

I took a few photos, but even at 8 seconds exposure time on f2.8, I could only catch the brightest portions. The photo above has the brightness level boosted, and you can make out some of the aurora just above and to the right of the street light. My photo won't give you any idea of the broad view of the Lights. They ranged across the whole northern sky, although they didn't not stretch high up into the night sky.

You might also make out the constellation of the Plough farther up in the sky, pointing towards the North Pole star. I was only holding the camera against a downpipe at the side of the house, so I'm quite impressed I held it so still for 8 seconds! Perhaps next time I'll get out my tripod.

When everything else was quiet, we could also hear some distant roaring from the red deer stags, now that they have started the annual rutting season. Hearing this was another first time experience for my wife and I.