January 16, 2015 Comet and Aurora
Northeastern Itasca County, MN
I wanted to get a couple shots of the comet because it was at its closest approach this week, and the rest of the week would probably be cloudy. I waited a little too long after sundown, allowing clouds to move in to Grand Rapids, so I had to drive to get my shot. The best chance was to go northeast and stay ahead of the northwest/southeast oriented cloud band, which I had hoped would drop a bit south, but no such luck for me. I started northeast on U.S. 169 and figured I would only have to go to the Scenic Highway, but the clearing line ahead of me seemed to not allow me to catch up to it. When I reached Nashwauk, I could see that I was almost there, so I decided to head north on MN 65. I made it up to the George Washington State Forest, where there's plenty of darkness. I found a parking lot at a snowmobile trailhead to pull over and take a few shots of the comet. There was a lack of snow, so there weren't any snowmobiles using the trail.
After a few comet shots, I noticed the northern horizon turning a bit green, so I began to explore some areas for shooting the northern horizon. There weren't too many such areas right where I was, and the auroras were really not getting bright or coming much off the horizon. I snapped a couple shots from the road and headed back home.
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| Comet viewed from the snowmobile trailhead parking lot. |
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| A glow in the northern sky, viewed from Highway 65. |