May 9, 2012 Auroras
Trout Lake, Bovey, MN
This is one of the nicest displays I've seen in terms of contrast. Bz never really dropped to less than about -9 nT that evening, but it was fluctuating a lot. That probably upset Earth's magnetosphere more than anything. There were several decent substorms, and the auroras were visible from inside the house.
The evening started out cloudy, but a cold front was on its way through and moved past us in the evening. The clearing moved through around 11:00 PM, just as the auroras started up. It's rare to have the auroras cooperate so well with the departure of the clouds.
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| The first major substorm erupts. |
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| Nice, contrasted auroras! |
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| Auroras start to retreat back northward and form a solid green band, but the substorm continues. |
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| A second substorm erupts. With the moon rising, the sky is not as dark, so contrast is less. |
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| Storm continues. |
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| Beautiful structure. |
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| The last substorm before I went home. |
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