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The Aurora

 This year is a good one for seeing Aurorae as the Sun is coming down in activity from its eleven-year maximum. It's a tricky business though. I have an aurora alert app on my phone but, I need to respond instantly if I am to see the aurora as it doesn't last long.

Last night I managed to get some scrappy aurora photos through a back bedroom window, picking up the camera immediately after a red alert on my phone. The aurora was visible above the street light of Dumfries but not as pretty as it would be from out in the countryside. The aurora is the greenish light with red blobs in it, but not the reflection on the window. 😀




Once I was sure I had some photos, I went downstairs, grabbed a coat and shoes and went to get a better view. that was all it took to miss the end of the show. the sky was beautiful, clear and starry but had no aurora in it.


So - aurorae are a great challenge to hunt for but you need to be quick. I used the AuroraWatch UK app and the camera is a Fujifilm XT-50 set for a high ISO, 1/2 sec exposure and manually focused on the sky.

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