November 9, 2024 Auroras

Grand Rapids, MN

I had a somewhat surprise auroral viewing episode this evening. Solar wind was pretty nominal-- nothing fancy-- but Bz was pointed south, and that lit things up in the northern sky. I was in the Twin Cities for some work meetings, and I was getting a slight bit of a late start. It was already dark when I left the Twin Cities, and the skies were mostly clear, except for a band of cirrus and cirrostratus moving up from the south. into southern Minnesota. Once I got north of the Twin Cities and away from light pollution, I would likely be able to see the auroral oval.

Indeed, I thought I could see a little bit between Cambridge and More on MN Hwy 65. I got past Mora and pulled over just north of Knife Lake to have a look. It was about as expected for Bz around -10 nT at this time of the evening (well, maybe a little closer to the horizon than I would have guessed).

Cell phone shot of the auroral oval between the Big Dipper and the northern horizon, taken from the Knife Lake area.

I drove farther north and pulled over again just south of McGregor for another look. Indeed, it was getting a bit higher in the sky. Approaching the Big Dipper. Hopefully, I would be able to get home before the auroras really brightened up.

Cell phone shot of the auroral oval just south of McGregor.

I got home, changed into some warmer clothing, grabbed my camera gear, and ate a couple snacks. As I was about the leave, I looked to the north and could see a substorm beginning. My first picture from my good camera were from my driveway. I wasted no time in getting to the closest boat landing, a couple blocks to my north. The auroras stood out quite nicely from the haze of the city lights.

A substorm starts as I shoot from my driveway.

Bright auroras over Blandin Bay overlooking the Blandin wood lot and the City of Grand Rapids.

A little more color appears.

The auroras settled back down a bit, so I drove north to get outside of town. Not wanting to deal with anyone else, I decided against going to a boat landing and opted, instead, for a secret location within walking distance of a bike trail north of town. It's a bit tight against some brush against the shore, but there's enough room to compose shots. I got out and walked down the trail, taking some time to actually remember where it was (it had been eight years since I last shot here).

I settled in while the auroral oval kept a steady glow. The structures that appeared were somewhat unique. There were a lot of brighter auroras coming and going right along the northern horizon, but the main oval (closer to me) kept a steady glow. This pattern seemed to keep up for about an hour or so. The main oval then began to brighten somewhat. I took a few pictures pointing more to the northwest.

Brighter auroras are confined to the horizon while the main oval remains steady.

The main auroral oval begins to brighten.

Auroras dance just above the treeline as a meteor strikes higher in the sky.

Some more auroras appeared close to the horizon, but this time, I coudl see their base just above the treeline. The original oval remained rather steady

Brighter auroras now, and they're spreading more rapidly.

Finally, some taller columns appeared.

Eventually, the main oval got involved, or else the auroras simply spread both southward and northward like they typically do in the beginning stages of a substorm. I went from shooting with my 24mm lens to shooting with the 15-35mm lens at 15mm. The columns grew taller, and more reds appeared.

Finally, some taller columns appeared.

The north sky brightens up.

Once the taller and more well-defined columns quieted down a bit, I headed back to the car, took a couple shots in the parking lot, and headed back toward home. When I arrived at my house, I checked Bz again and saw that it was still in the -10 range. I decided to set up a camera in the guest bathroom, pointing north out the window. I'm glad I did this. Most of the rest of the night, the auroras were relatively quiet, but just before sunrise, the brightened up a lot, and my camera was able to capture the colorful display over my neighbors' rooftop.

Auroras over my neighbors' roof just before sunrise.

Solar wind data from the event.

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