Despite the bright light from the near full moon and the light halo of Oslo, the low hanging northern light is visible as a faint green glow just above the northern horizon. Perhaps the very last opportunity before the night of northern summer is but a passing twilight. It’s a bit frustrating with night upon [...]
The Bunnefjord (the sibling of the Oslo fjord) has now been frozen over for many weeks and the ice is thicker than in many years. This night was without any clouds and it was incredible to be able to walk on the fjord as the moon was rising in the east. As I was walking [...]
The moon almost full, almost clear sky and stars visible in the moonlight and a growing thundercloud – all mixed in with a soundscape so loud and varied that I have decided to purchase a proper recording device so I can share it in the future. The moonlit nights are special in many ways, but [...]
This is a 23 second time-lapse spanning more than 3 hours between 21:50 and 01:15. At this time of year the Milkyway is not as prominent as in the summer months, but there are so many stars to be seen at any time of year at this altitude and in particular in the dry air [...]
This was an incredibly windy and cold night, and it was really hard to find a place away from the wind to set up the camera for long exposures. Even with my down jacket, woolen socks, long johns and gloves, I simply had to leave the camera behind and go back to my room to [...]
Being a desert the air is dry, and here you can see starsets! Usually only the sun or moon and the planets shine bright enough to be seen all the way to the horizon, but here all the stars seen high in the sky are also equally visible all the way to the horizon. Most [...]
Bolivias highest mountain – 6542 metres high – facing south. What a magnificent moment – the Large Magellanic cloud right above Sajama, the Milkyway to the left and a meteor! The dawn is just minutes away, and the first photons of light are flowing in from the rising sun (to the far left of the [...]
The sunspots are now growing in size and frequency, with the promise of much Aurora Borealis the coming months – weather permitting! The largest sunspots here are designated AR1532 (lower left) and AR1530 (lower right).
Altitude 3083 metres. See Atmospheric Optics for more on halo and how it forms.
The Draconid meteors are generally faint, so with a near full moon the amount seen this night were few and far between. Being inside the huge dome of Oslo’s light pollution adds to the overall dimming of the meteors. I saw mostly very faint “blips”, and once in a very long while some bright streaks [...]
This is a composite of 14 exposures that all contain one or more Draconids, making the dotted star trails. As Oslo and the near full moon strongly pollutes the dark sky, a full long exposure star trail scenario would simply add too many air planes and light too see the faint meteors. Most of the [...]
Finally some intense auroas AND clear skies! It seemed at first to be only a dim band high in the northern sky, but at around 23:15 local time (21:15 UT) a sudden burst in intensity and spread! It covered all of the sky up to and a bit beyond zenith. This time lapse spans more [...]
There are countless waterfalls on and off Roraima, large and small. If the sun is out and the angle is right, a rainbow will flash as in this photo. One can walk to such a place, or sit by one and wait until the sun and angle makes it happen all on it’s own.
Since the first shots at around 20:40, the clouds moved in and the northern lights slowly withdrew to the north, as if the show was over. 3 hours later while walking my dog I see a fast moving swirl over the tree tops, and quickly walk home to grab the camera. There were no more [...]
Seeing northern lights in the light pollution of Oslo is one thing, another is weather conditions. This autumn has not been favorable, with long periods of overcast and rain. Finally everything came together for a great veiwing. This time the display was mostly a dim and mellow veil, stretching allmost to zenith. Only few and [...]
The forecast suggested a great show this evening. I went out and looked for the northern lights several times without seeing any, and I wasn’t really surprised, as the summer sky still was very bright, and the northern lights had to be very strong to compete. I only got one shot where the northern lights [...]
Going to this remote atoll in the south pacific I was in anticipation of a clear sky and no light pollution. The sky was not entirely clear, so I had to wait for the small clouds to pass between shots. The amazing thing is that with no visual aid I could see the shadowbands of [...]
According to the Auroral Oval there should be strong auroras – alas! I was glimpsing what could be northern lights, but they were weak, and featureless. Disappointed I was heading to bed, but one final look outside revealed something interesting. I grabbed my camera and tripod, and rand outside. Unfortunately, before I had set it [...]
Even during the time of the deepest solar minimum in a century, it’s possible to see the aurorae. Albeit dim and hardly vislible to the untrained eye. It was a mild, windy and starry night. The grasshoppers playing in the trees. Low in the northern sky I could see a very faint hue of green. [...]