Aurora
Borealis ~ (Northern Lights)
All of the aurora photographs on this site are available as stock photos for commercial licensing or as fine art display pictures for home and office decor.
 Aurora arcs over the Brooks mountain range in Arctic, Alaska. © Patrick J. Endres The aurora borealis or northern lights is a phenomenon
of visual wonder for sure. Many nights in the field with a camera
have yielded hours of star gazing and magical displays of the
aurora--and a few photos. This page offers some points of interest
regarding this subject.
Aurora related links
10 aurora digital
photography guidelines
1. Shoot in RAW format
2. Turn on Digital Noise Reduction
3. Set LCD Brightness to low
4. Test exposure, consult histogram
5. Have 2 batteries and 2 flash
cards
6. Remove the filter from your
lens
7. Use a tall but sturdy tripod
8. Use a cable release
9. Know the aurora forecasts
10. Scout a location in daylight
 Aurora arcs over the Brooks mountain range in Arctic, Alaska. © Patrick J. Endres Arcs of light reach across the sky slowly. They shimmer
and turn in loops of shifting colors and brilliance. This
is one of the night sky's most regal displays-the aurora
borealis, or "northern lights." Many times the
aurora appears in a ring shape, circling around the dark
sky like a splendid crown. When you see this in the Northern
Hemisphere, it is called aurora borealis. If you're in the
Southern Hemisphere, it is called aurora australis.
Solar flare and the earth's magnetic field
 Sample of what a solar flare looks like. This image was captured by NASA's SWIFT satellite on a star 135 light years from the earth. Photo credit NASA Have you ever held a small magnet underneath a sheet of
paper with iron filings on it? When you drag the magnet
around, the iron filings follow it, lining up in a neat
pattern. Earth's magnetic field treats solar particles the
same way. Auroras occur when solar particles
bombard the Earth's atmosphere. From the ground,
these particles shimmer, reflecting light from the sun,
but you can only see this effect closer to the North and
South Poles. The particles are lined up there at just the
right angle for you to see the light.
Some scientists think that there might be some link between
the appearances of sunspots and auroras. Sunspots are like
storms on the surface of the sun that create huge gusts
of solar wind.
Aurora activity
 Green aurora displays are the most common color observed. © Patrick J. Endres The aurora consists of rapidly shifting patches and dancing
columns of light of various hues. Extensive auroral displays
are accompanied by disturbances in terrestrial magnetism
and interference with radio, telephone, and telegraph transmission.
The period of maximum and minimum intensity of the aurora
follows almost exactly that of the sunspot cycle, which
is an 11-year cycle. Studies made during and after the 1957-58
International Geophysical Year indicate that the auroral
glow is triggered when the solar wind is enhanced by an
influx of high-energy atomic particles emanating from sunspots.
The electrons and protons penetrate the magnetosphere of
the earth and enter the lower Van Allen radiation belt,
overloading it. The excess electrons and protons are discharged
into the atmosphere over an area centering on the north
and south magnetic poles and extending about 20º away
from them. These particles then collide with gas molecules
in the atmosphere, thereby exciting the molecules and causing
them to emit electromagnetic radiation in the visible portion
of the spectrum.
Aurora shapes and patterns
 Arcing crown of light over the Alaska mountain range. ©Patrick J. Endres | 
