December 2006
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  Summary: A coronal mass ejection hit Earth on Dec. 14th, sparking a severe (Kp=8) geomagnetic storm and auroras seen as far south as Arizona. The source of the CME was an X3-class explosion from sunspot 930 on Dec. 13th.
 
  Photographer, Location Images Comments


M. Scott Moon,
Soldotna, Alaska, USA
Dec. 14, 2006
#1, #2, more

Tonight's aurora appeared at about 6:30 p.m. on the northern horizon. The show continues to build in intensity as the aurora rises higher in the sky.


Jeff Hapeman,
Cross Plains, Wisconsin.
Dec. 14, 2006
#1, #2, more

Very bright aurora from the CME caused by the X3 solar flare from sunspot 930. Visible at dusk, approximately 5:20pm CST through 10:30pm CST when I arrived in downtown Chicago. The peak intensity that was visible was about 6:30pm CST in southern WI; after that it clouded up.

Photo details: Canon 5D, 10s exposures at ISO 1250, f/2.8 with a 14mm L lens.


Richard Bell,
Kalamazoo, MI
Dec. 14, 2006
#1, #2, more

We're so lucky! First, we get to observe the Geminid meteor shower on Wednesday then we get more Geminids and a nice aurora display on Thursday. The great thing is that both nights were clear - in Michigan - in December. An early holiday gift!

Photo details: Canon 300D with the 18-55 mm Zoom lens set at 18 mm.


Chuy Ojeda,
Saint Francis, Wisconsin, USA
Dec. 14, 2006
#1, #2, #3, #4

It was nice to see the auroras again. Even the light polluted downtown Milwaukee was no match for the Northern Lights!

Photo details: Nikon D70 loaded with a custom curve, 50mm lens set to f1.8, ISO 400, 5/10 seconds exposure.


Greg Sellek,
Near Madison, WI
Dec. 14, 2006
#1, #2, #3

Finally the clouds cleared enough to get these shots in. We could tell there were bright aurora becuase the clouds were all green!

Photo details: Canon 20D, 28mm lens @ f/2.8, 20 seconds at ISO 400.


Ed Kreminski,
Westerville, Ohio, USA
Dec. 14, 2006
#1

Clouds made it hard to see the aurora that seemed to be indicated by the various solar data plots. Eventually, a few glowing clouds appeared. The photos later showed them to be green aurora. It's been a long time since we've had aurora here in central Ohio and it's good to see them again.

Photo details: Olympus E-1 at 14mm, 100 ISO, 20s at f2.8.


Lyndon Anderson,
15 miles north of Bismarck, North Dakota, USA
Dec. 14, 2006
#1, #2, #3, more

I have seen many displays, but the substorms during this one were unbelievable!

 


Peter Tirsek,
Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Dec. 14, 2006
#1, #2, #3

The aurora was easily visible to the naked eye without having to leave the city. While we were out looking for aurora, the sky treated us to another magnificent sight: A bright fireball streaking across the sky before breaking into smaller pieces. Unfortunately, the camera was pointed in the wrong direction at that time, but I'm still happy to finally get some shots of the aurora.

Photo details: Canon EOS 30D, 18mm, 20-30s exposures at F/4.0 and F/4.5, ISO 200 and 400. Incandescent white balance to reduce the muddy glow of city lights, and add a bit of "blue sky" effect.


Sal Viviano,
Washington, Michigan USA
Dec. 14, 2006
#1, #2

Photo details: Nikon D100 17mm lens

more images: from Brian Bledsoe of Piseco, New York, USA; from Erkki Rauhala of Uurainen, Middle of Finland; from Matthew Landelius just north of Ann Arbor, Michigan; from Jeff Brusewitz of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; from Rodrigo Roesch of Mettewa IL; from Scott Manly of Ionia, MI, USA; from Xiaoyang Gu of Zenorsville, Iowa;