Journal Entry

"Hey there's an Aurora!"

That was all we needed to hear at about 1:30am to send us out into the dark cold night! I had stayed up late to work on our PolarTREC webinar that was coming up in a few days, and was very glad that I was already awake to see natures light show!

It's about 3am now...and I'm really ready for bed, but I just couldn't go to sleep without posting some of my photos in a journal for you all to see later today. I hope you enjoy them!

Aurora over the Beaufort Sea onboard the R/V Sikuliaq!Aurora over the Beaufort Sea onboard the R/V Sikuliaq! September 12, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff. Aurora over the Beaufort Sea onboard the R/V Sikuliaq! September 12, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.Aurora over the Beaufort Sea onboard the R/V Sikuliaq! September 12, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff. Aurora over the Beaufort Sea and Lisa Seff onboard the R/V Sikuliaq! September 12, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.Wow! How awesome is that! Aurora over the Beaufort Sea and Lisa Seff onboard the R/V Sikuliaq! September 12, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff. Aurora over the Beaufort Sea and the bridge onboard the R/V Sikuliaq! September 12, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.Aurora over the Beaufort Sea and the bridge onboard the R/V Sikuliaq! September 12, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff. Aurora over the Beaufort Sea and the bridge onboard the R/V Sikuliaq! September 12, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.Aurora over the Beaufort Sea and the bridge onboard the R/V Sikuliaq! September 12, 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff. Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Aurora Forecast! September 12, 2017. Screen shot by Lisa Seff.I went online to the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and screen shot their Aurora Forecast just after going back inside! Amazing as the light show was, we were only at the edge of the forecast area. September 12, 2017. Screen shot by Lisa Seff.

Why do Auroras occur? The basic explanation is that when electrons and protons from the Sun travel along Earth’s magnetic field lines that come together near both Poles, this causes those particles to collide with atoms in the atmosphere. During the collision an exchange of energy takes place that excites the atoms. When the atoms return to an unexcited state they can give off light resulting in the Aurora. For a more detailed explanation, as well as the Aurora forecast please visit the following website: http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast

Comments

Tue, 09/12/2017 - 07:19

Judy Fahnestock

I'm so glad you had the opportunity to see the aurora while up there! It looks like it was just amazing. It doesn't seem to matter what time it is, when the "aurora call" is made - everyone is up! Thanks for sharing.

Tue, 09/12/2017 - 12:45

Lisa Seff

Hi Bill! I was SO THINKING OF YOU! It was awesome and you were the inspiration for the selfie. That shot was with my iPhone. Any suggestions for settings that I should be using with my Cannon EOS Rebel 6i would be most appreciated! I couldn't get anything on it and when we start heading south the aurora forecast looks great.Ideas?
(:
take care and hope all is well.-Lisa

Tue, 09/12/2017 - 16:29

Jaye D.

Do Auroras only happen in cold places?

Tue, 09/12/2017 - 23:26

Lisa Seff

Hi Jaye-great question.the answer is...sort of! But not because it's cold.  Auroras occur because of particles hitting our magnetic field and are channeled toward the poles.  

Here's a link to more info about Aurora's and you can see where the latest forecasts are for the best viewing.  Also if you look on the right, there are links to more information.  It's a great website!!
(:
take care,
Lisa

From: PolarTREC
To:
Sent: 9/12/2017 4:29 PM
Subject: Re: Jaye D. commented on 12 September 2017 Green Shimmering Curtains Over the Beaufort Sea and Me!

(((

Wed, 09/13/2017 - 11:51

ACSA Addison

So,how do purple and red colors of an aurora appear?

Wed, 09/13/2017 - 18:29

Lisa Seff

Hi Addison! Well, our atmosphere is made up of different elements, so color is based on what atmospheric gas the electrons are interacting with.
Here's a link for a poster that I like, concerning the aurora.
https://pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/polar/telecons/archive/PR_E-PO/Aurora_flyer/a…
take care and great question!
Lisa

From: PolarTREC
To:
Sent: 9/13/2017 11:51 AM
Subject: Re: ACSA Addison commented on 12 September 2017 Green Shimmering Curtains Over the Beaufort Sea and Me!

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Thu, 09/14/2017 - 06:38

Andrew D.

What causes an aurora?

Thu, 09/14/2017 - 06:45

Thomas Vilar

Why Is The Aurora Green?
Thank you for your time.

Thu, 09/14/2017 - 06:46

John Q

How long did the lights last ??Thank you for your time

Thu, 09/14/2017 - 06:47

Hassan Noman

How long did the aurora last? Thank you for your time.

Thu, 09/14/2017 - 06:49

nataliaf

do aurora's come in different colors? thank you for your time!

Thu, 09/14/2017 - 07:31

Lisa Seff

Hi Andrew!! So, the basics:When super fast moving particles from space move from the magnetosphere, the area of space where Earth's magnetic field is, into our atmosphere they collide with the oxygen and nitrogen in our atmosphere.  The electrons "give" energy to the gas molecules which makes the gas molecules get excited. When the molecules go back to their normal state they release photons.  The photons are the small bursts of light we see in the sky.  The neat thing is that the colors we see are dependent on the gases that the electrons are interacting with and how much energy is exchanged.  Greenish-yellow or sometimes red is oxygen. Bluish light is from nitrogen interactions!
Pretty cool! 
Thanks for tuning in Andrew!
safe seas,
Lisa

From: PolarTREC
To:
Sent: 9/14/2017 6:38 AM
Subject: Re: Andrew D. commented on 12 September 2017 Green Shimmering Curtains Over the Beaufort Sea and Me!

((( R

Thu, 09/14/2017 - 07:31

Lisa Seff

Hi Tommy!The green aurora is caused by interaction between the electrons from space interacting with oxygen molecules.  Oxygen interaction can produce green-yellow or red colors. Interaction with nitrogen produces more of a blue color!
thank you for the great question and I hope all is well with you!
Safe seas and thanks for joining us on the R/V Sikuliaq!
(:
Lisa

From: PolarTREC
To:
Sent: 9/14/2017 6:45 AM
Subject: Re: Thomas Vilar commented on 12 September 2017 Green Shimmering Curtains Over the Beaufort Sea and Me!

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Thu, 09/14/2017 - 07:31

Lisa Seff

Hi John Q!  The lights lasted for about an hour, but they were constantly changing shape and intensity, and the location where they were in the sky.  I thought the coolest moment was the swirl above the Bridge on the top of the ship.  It was so bright and the pattern was just amazing!(:
thanks for joining us on the ship today!
Lisa

From: PolarTREC
To:
Sent: 9/14/2017 6:46 AM
Subject: Re: John Q commented on 12 September 2017 Green Shimmering Curtains Over the Beaufort Sea and Me!

(((

Thu, 09/14/2017 - 07:31

Lisa Seff

Hi Hassan! the aurora lasted for a little over an hour! It was quite a light show!!(:
thanks for the question,
Lisa

From: PolarTREC
To:
Sent: 9/14/2017 6:47 AM
Subject: Re: Hassan Noman commented on 12 September 2017 Green Shimmering Curtains Over the Beaufort Sea and Me!

Thu, 09/14/2017 - 07:31

Lisa Seff

Hi Natalia! Nice to hear from you!So yes, and the color depend on the type of gas interaction and the amount of energy exchanged.  Oxygen colors are greenish-yellow and sometimes red.  Nitrogen interaction is blue!
(:
take care and safe seas!
Lisa

From: PolarTREC
To:
Sent: 9/14/2017 6:49 AM
Subject: Re: nataliaf commented on 12 September 2017 Green Shimmering Curtains Over the Beaufort Sea and Me!

((

Thu, 09/14/2017 - 09:58

Bill Schmoker

Hey Lisa- for sure aurora photography is going to be an experimental pursuit!! Do you have a tripod, or some way to clamp down your Cannon? On my trip the recipe that ended up working was to cycle through 1, 2, 3, or 4 second time exposures (longer would inevitably be blurry due to ship movement and wind shake on my lightweight tripod.) Even some of the shorter exposures were severely blurred so taking lots of pics is key. I boosted my ISO to something like 1000 or 2000 (experiment here to see how "noisy" the pics are depending on ISO), opened up my aperture as far as it would go (f/4 on the lens I used), and set the shutter speed for the time exposure. You can do this in the manual ("M") mode. The key is to peek at each shot after you take it to decide if you want to go with a longer shutter speed (which will be brighter but perhaps blurrier) or shorter etc.
A couple of other pointers:
- Pushing the shutter button can also induce shake- with long time exposures you can put your shutter on the timer so by the time it takes the shot the vibration will dissipate.
- Even if your aurora looks dim on the initial shot, you can often bring it out more in editing by adjusting light levels to brighten the shot.
- If you want to illuminate yourself or someone else you can quickly hit the subject with a flashlight or even the glow of your iPhone- again, experiment.
- Don't be too freaked out by noise in your image if you bump your ISO way up- better to have that and see the aurora than to not expose it. There is software that helps a lot with noise that I can help you with later if you need it.

Good luck and have fun!!

Thu, 09/14/2017 - 09:57

Bill Schmoker

One more thought- on your iPhone, if you touch and hold part of your screen to lock exposure & focus you will see a tiny little light bulb icon next to the yellow square. You can slide this up and down with your finger to brighten or dim the exposure beyond what the camera decides is "right".
Oh, and I just looked and tonight's aurora forecast is "active"... fingers crossed for you!!

Fri, 09/15/2017 - 10:34

Lisa Seff

Hi Bill! Oh that's all super helpful! I'm playing with different settings in my cabin at the moment.  Fingers crossed that the skies are
clear and we can get another night with the aurora!
(:
thanks so much!
Lisa

On 9/14/17 8:45 AM, PolarTREC wrote:
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