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Too last night. Holy nonsense, guys! We just experienced the most incredible aurora Showcases I've seen in New Zealand. Have you managed to take it anywhere in the world?
Last night, when I tied out to search for the southern lights, Frost had already started sitting on my car parked along the streets of Lake Havey Street. When the sky around central Otago is completely clear, it only gets this level of bone cold. White Walker weather sometimes indicates rare frost. Remember, we are going to New Zealand for winter.
I really tried hard to summarize the energy of doing some astronomical photography. Currently, Super Days add a vicious polar front torn and my sofa, blanket and sheepskin thermos are all particularly tempting. And I'm already wearing my pajamas. But then I took the old sin journey. I was lucky enough to live in southern New Zealand and away from city lights. I need to lift my butt and move it.
In my driveway, even with the bright street lights above my head, I had already seen the sky shining. Oh, damn it would be great!
For ten years, I've been chasing the southern lights in New Zealand, fascinated by their magic. Growing up on the east coast of the U.S. city, we never saw clear skies like 44°S, population: a minority.
I still remember the first time I saw the Milky Way’s core here and I was paved. When I first saw Aurora Australia illuminating the sky above Lake Wanaka This is the first time in 2015? My thoughts were blown away. Second, by last night, it was the best show I've ever seen here. The only difference is the $10,000 for the camera device, which in my opinion is more experience.
Inspired by such His dark material (This prompted me to go for the first time Svalbard And a lifelong love for polar places), I have long been obsessed with our night sky. Even with all the knowledge we know today, Auroras is still a mystery, attracting almost everyone. Portal to another world? Who knows.
Hurry me up; I'm tired of it here.
Aurora in the Southern Hemisphere is different from the aurora in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in New Zealand. When I saw the Northern Lights dance, my latitude was much higher than their southern counterparts. I'm talking about the Arctic circle above 66°N.
Now remember that the opposite 66°S is basically Antarctica, which means only five people see Aurora there in the winter. Remember that in these distant latitudes, there are not many dark times when tourists visit in summer. Aurora is happening all the time, but we can only see them in the darkness.
New Zealand can only really drop to 47°S, which means we see Aurora far from the southern horizon, not on our heads. Very stupid here. Often, sometimes we see light or soft light on a good performance with the naked eye, but most of the time you need a camera with a long shutter speed to capture the full color here.
Except on Saturday night, the sky lights up like a Christmas tree and you can see everything in every direction. Even our phones capture amazing photos and videos because it's so bright.
I do have so many questions about how to view and/or shoot Aurora that it really deserves its own post. I'll go eventually, haha. Remember, asking when to see Aurora is like asking when there will be a rainbow. I can't tell you it depends on the prediction, weather, location, light pollution, etc.
But at the same time, here are my flash tricks and things to know now:
- You need to be as dark as possible to see them, usually about an hour after sunset, when the sky is completely dark. You also need to get rid of as much light pollution as possible, so avoid the city and bright lights. The full moon is bright and may also hinder viewing. The cloud is also obvious
- Be aware of others – keep your own lights to a minimum so your eyes can adapt to the darkness, for example, turn off the car headlights once you get to the location and keep your phone or torch at a minimum and turn off quickly
- The further you are, the greater the chance of seeing the New Zealand Aurora. Usually, you also need to look south to see them – use the Compass app on your phone
- Try to find a good viewing place in advance. If you may be in the mountains in your south, you may get in the way of climbing or staying away from them to avoid blocking the southern horizon
- Join some FB groups to predict tips and predictions about your residency, read many posts to learn
- But don't ask questions like “Where can I see Aurora in Auckland?” Take some initiative and reread steps one to five steps to figure out a place that suits you (I get it, but that's all my favorites in all aspects – try to try your own work first)
- You need a tripod to capture the aurora on your camera, but now, the new phone is very good at capturing in the night sky. On iPhone, you can swipe up to change the shutter speed to slow it down to capture the sky. If it's very bright, it just catches the aurora
- With the camera, you want to use the widest lens with the lowest aperture. I took a 16-35mm f/2.8 lens. Select a star and manually focus your lens. I took the ISO Super high and used a few seconds of shutter speed to figure out my frame and then started playing. Saturday's Aurora is so bright
- be patient. Aurora's performances come and go, burn brighter, softer, dance and move. I usually spend hours watching them. It is always changing. Gorgeously dressed with chocolate
- Sit down, put your phone and camera down, and soak it. Save it in a storage book
My favorite part of Aurora lately is that there are so many people in the world who see it. How unbelievable is that? We are facing some pretty mean times, and if only one night is combined with our beautiful planet, it is very special.
I spent hours watching the sky dance, the stars flashed, and the occasional sudden greeting of Elon Musk's satellites. This is the best aurora I've ever seen in New Zealand. This is the first time I have seen the lights move here and in all directions, rather than toward the south.
How special. How memorable. It's just the kind of experience I'm eager to be excited about photography again.
How are your aurora around the world? share!
