August 1-4, 2002, Aurora Gallery
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Summary: On August 1st, the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) near Earth suddenly turned south--a condition that renders Earth's magnetosphere vulnerable to solar wind gusts. A G2-class geomagnetic storm began soon after. Sky watchers in Canada and parts of the United States saw colorful auroras on August 2nd. The storm continued fitfully until August 4th.

Unless otherwise stated, all images are copyrighted by the photographers.

  Photographer, Location Images Comments

Stephane Levesque, Luceville, Québec, Canada
Aug. 4
#1, #2, #3 Photo details: Pentax me; 28mm; f3.5; 30 sec exposure.

Dominic Cantin, St-Michel de Bellechasse, 30 km east of Québec City, Québec, Canada
Aug. 4
#1, #2, more Photo details: 28 mm @ f 2.8, 25 sec, Fuji Superia 800

Chris Gray, Lake Manitoba, near Moosehorn, Manitoba, Canada
Aug. 4-5
#1 C. Gray: "The display lasted about 3 hours." Photo details: Nikon F100, 50 mm lens

Mark Golub, Riding Mountain, Manitoba, Canada
Aug. 2-3
#1, #2, more Photo details: Fuji 400 film; 15-45 second exposures

Mark Hoffmeyer, Anchorage, Alaska, USA
Aug. 4
#1 In this photo from Alaska, the northern sky glows with August's waning midnight sun. Photo details: Kodak Max 400 film, Minolta X-700, 28mm/F2.8 at ~10 seconds.

Warren Justice, Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, Canada
Aug. 4
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 Photo details: 28mm 12-30sec.@ f1.9-f2.8 Film: Fuji Superia 800 X-tra

Duane Clausen, Menominee, Michigan, USA
Aug. 2
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, more D. Clausen: "The auroras waxed and waned all night with enough intensity to keep me out from 10:30 p.m. until 02:30 a.m. It was an awesome surprise."

Dominic Cantin, St-Michel de Bellechasse, 30 km east of Québec City, Québec, Canada
Aug. 2
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, more Photo details: 28 mm @ f 2.8, 25 sec, Fuji Superia 800

Carol Lakomiak, Tomahawk Wisconsin, USA
Aug. 2-3
#1 C. Lakomiak: "Very short-lived, but a beautiful display! "

Lyndon Anderson, near Bismarck, North Dakota, USA
Aug. 1-2
#1, #2, #3, more L. Anderson: "It was an amazing show. I was able to view auroras to the north, and to the south."

Philippe Moussette, near the Québec City airport, Québec, Canada
Aug. 2-3
#1, #2, more Photo details: Pentax ME Super, Fuji Color 800 ASA, 30 second exposure, 15mm , f3.5.

Marek Dudka, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, USA
Aug. 2
#1, #2, #3, #4 M. Dudka: "The display was very vibrant with green and reddish colors and with amazing bright rays stretching throughout the northern skies (reaching 90 degrees above the horizon). The photographs were taken with Canon PowerShot G1 digital camera."

Ken Cravillion, north of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA
Aug. 2
#1, #2, #3, more K. Cravillion: "I also saw lots of Perseid meteors, including a fireball."

Sébastien Giguère, atop Mount Megantic, near Québec City, Québec, Canada
Aug. 2
#1, #2, more S. Giguère: "It was a great night at the observatory! Auroras, bright shooting stars, majestic moonrise, ISS sightings, milky way at the zenith... The public was amazed and so were we!" All photos were taken with a Coolpix 995 digital camera.

Stan Richard, near Des Moines, Iowa, USA
Aug. 2
#1, #2, #3, more Photo details: Kodak Elite Chrome 400 slide film.

Brett Walker, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, USA
Aug. 1-2
#1 B. Walker: "I was really surprised. The auroras got very bright at times, and lasted about 2 hours (11p-1a local time)." Photo details: Minolta DiMAGE 7, ISO 800 f2.8, 15s exposure

Philippe Moussette, near the Québec City airport, Québec, Canada
Aug. 1-2
#1, #2, more Photo details: Coolpix 995 digital camera, 30s exposure, 400 asa.

Warren Justice, Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, Canada
Aug. 1-2
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 Photo details: 28mm 15-25sec.@ f1.9, Fuji Superia X-tra 800.

Dominic Cantin, 75 km north of Québec City, Québec, Canada
Aug. 3
#1, #2, #3, #4, more D. Cantin: "On two of these pictures you can see a van and a car passing during the exposure." Photo details: 28 mm @ f 2.8, 25 sec, Fuji Superia 800

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