Intense Spring Aurora Over Northern Michigan

June 01, 2012

MichiganauroraDSC_0073AW

Photographer: Greg Raniszewski
Summary Authors: Greg Raniszewski; Jim Foster

The photo above shows the northern lights as viewed from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan on the night of April 23, 2012. Not only was there a remarkable aurora display, but the Moon was below the horizon and so didn't steal any luster away from the show. Green color dominated early on but later in the night both green and red aurora saturated the northern sky. In late spring and summer, the only place where aurora can be easily seen is in the mid-latitudes -- the sky isn't dark enough to observe them further to the north (or to the south in the Southern Hemisphere).  

Photo Details: Camera: NIKON D90; Focal Length: 24.0mm (35mm equivalent: 36mm); Aperture: f/2.8; Exposure Time: 30.000 s; ISO equiv: 400; Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 10.0 Windows.

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