March 22, 2025 Auroras

Chippewa National Forest

This is the best show of 2025 (so far). The auroras got barely into the southern sky, and there were lots of different colors. One of my favorite places to go when there's ice on the lakes is Wabana Lake. From the boat landing, I can walk out a couple hundred yards and get an expansive view of the northern sky. One thing I also like to do at this time of year (the spring equinox) is take pictures of the zodiacal light. It's not as bright in Minnesota as it is in places (like Hawaii) closer to the equator, but it's interesting to see. Tonight, I was thwarted. The auroras came southward enough to obscure my view of the ecliptic plane. No problem. The views of the auroras were great!

The brightest auroras were in the early evening as Bz had been south into the mid teens for a few hours. While I was shooting, Bz flipped a bit more north, and the auroras retreated to the northern horizon. I was able to enjoy a bright evening and get to bed at a reasonable hour.


First look as I walked out onto the lake.


Looking back west. Actually, you can see the relatively dim plume of zodiacal light at the southern boundary of the auroras.


Some brighter structure appears.


The effects of sunlight on the auroras are visible in this picture. Sunlight cuts across the upper left corner of this image, changing the color of the auroras from red to violet/purple.


Looking northeast into the parts of the aurora where sunlight is not affecting the color.


A gradual brightening of all the colors.


A band of stable auroral red (SAR) or strong velocity enhancement thermal emissions (STEVE) appears.


Looking back west after the auroras retreated to the northern horizon.


An image at 24mm from my other camera.


24mm image of the main substorm and its colors.


A major shaft of magenta.


As the auroras begin their retreat to the northern horizon, the color changes to mostly green.


One more shot as I walk back to the boat landing.

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