September 2005
Aurora Gallery
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Summary: Sunspot 798, which sparked strong auroras in August 2005, returned to the Earth-facing side of the sun on Sept. 7th and immediately unleashed an X17-class solar flare, one of the brightest ever recorded. Subsequent flares and CMEs from the active region buffeted Earth's magnetic field on Sept 10th and 11th, causing a strong geomagnetic storm. Auroras were seen from Alaska and Arizona.

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


  Photographer, Location Images Comments

Ryan Finkbiner,
Minot, North Dakota (approx 20 minutes south of Canadian-US border).
Sep. 11
#1, #2, #3

These lights occurred directly above me-- this eye formed and then poured the energy out over the northern sky-- it got so bright some times, it was near daylight coniditions. Hope you enjoy them. Taken with Canon Rebel Digital XT-- Tamron 28-75MM, f/11, 4 sec shutter, no filters-- tripod.

Thad V'Soske,
Grand Mesa, Colorado
Sep. 11
#1, #2, #3, #4, more

There was far more aurora than I could fit in the camera frame and the show lasted all the way through astronomical twilight. It was terrific!

Remi Boucher,
Eastern Township, Quebec, Canada
Sep. 11
#1, #2, #3, #4

Nikon D70, 400-1000ISO, 15-30sec. exposures

Kevin Forster,
Wasilla, Alaska
Sep. 10
#1

Sony DSC-717 ISO100 20 sec. exp.

Michael Walker,
Sturgeon Lake (Bobcaygeon) NE of Toronto, Ontario.
Sep. 11
#1, more

Taken with a Nikon D70 with noise reduction turned. 20 Seconds, ASA 400 27mm lens.

Chris Cook,
Cape Cod, Massachusetts USA
Sep. 11
#1, more

The display seemed to peak around 2am EDT from my location in eastern Massachusetts. What a great treat!! Images were taken with a Canon EOS 20D digital SLR, 35 sec exposures with a Tokina 12-24mm f/4 lens @ f/4 using ISO 800. NOTE: Please use my website URL as my contact info.

Victor T. DeCristoforo,
Cherry Springs (Black Forest) Pennsylvania
Sep. 02
#1

The northern sky was lighter than normal but nothing very noticeable.

Tim Printy,
Manchester, New Hampshire
Sep. 10
#1, more

About 11:30PM, auroral activity was visible from my home in NH for about 15 minutes. It then subsided to a dull green glow on the northern horizon. Photo was taken with a Nikon D70 camera set at ISO 800 using a 30 second exposure and an 18MM F3.5 lens.

Ronny Tertnes,
Bergen, Norway
Sep. 10
#1, #2, more

Canon EOS 300D, ISO 800, 24mm at F4, 15-20 sec. exposures

Paul L Meisel,
Ward County, North Dakota
Sep. 11
#1, #2, #3, #4, more

I had been on the Amateur Radio 20 Meter band all day yesterday, trying to relay emergency messages for the American Red Cross. However the solar storm was so strong that it made communication almost impossible. That was very frustrating, but I was looking forward to nightfall when I knew that I could take advantage of the solar conditions by shooting some aurora photos. >From my location about 20 miles south of Minot, ND, the peak activity seemed to occur between 3:00 and 4:00 AM local time, and allowed me to shoot a few very interesting shots of the Aurora Borealis over Minot.

more images: from Walter Yund IV of Galway, New York (Sept. 11); from Mark Faulkner of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada (Sept. 11); from Wayne Hilliard at Stellafane in Springfield, Vermont (Sept 11); from Geir T. Øye of Ørsta, Norway (Sept. 11); from Bill Barr in the Pocono Mountains of White Haven, Pa (Sept. 11); from Paul Egan of Tobermory, Ontario, Canada (Sept. 11);

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