Northern Lights Over Sebago Lake on February 19, 2014

April 07, 2014

Aurora pier 021914 9 (2)

Photographer: John Stetson
Summary Authors: John Stetson; Jim Foster

This picture of a lovely aurora was snapped from Sebago Lake, Maine, in the early morning hours of February 19, 2014. An aurora that occurred on August 5, 2005 at the same location was featured as the Earth Science Picture of the Day of August 25, 2005. Geomagnetic storms, and their associated auroras, occur more frequently during months near the equinoxes, although there appears to be no earth-related seasonality to solar wind activity. However, observing the northern lights at high latitudes in summer is challenging because of the limited period of darkness. Note that red auroras generally shine above the green colored aurora, at altitudes as high as 300 mi (482 km) above the Earth's surface. Green auroras are found between about 65 to 200 mi up (100 and 322 km).

Photo details: Camera Model: NIKON D700; Lens: AF Fisheye Nikkor 16mm f/2.8D; Focal Length: 16.0mm (35mm equivalent: 16mm); Aperture: f/2.8; Exposure Time: 30.000 s; ISO equiv: 200; Software: Adobe Photoshop CS4 Macintosh.