After midnight, the aurora died down to a faint glow, great opportunity to stargaze with the crystal clear skies and catch some startrails with the Aurora! 400 iso 14mm f2.8 aprox 15 min exp

Add Nebraska to the list! I saw auroras on and off for approximately 2 hours from around 9pm to 11pm local time. There was a brief spell where color was visible to the eye with rays and bands. All of these shots are taken with a Canon T1i, 18mm, 1600 iso for 20 seconds. I also have a brief timelapse up here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwV4UOX2kB0&feature=share

After 3 very long months of not seeing any Auroras in Northern Minnesota (my last few opportunities were blocked by heavy cloud cover), the lights made a surprise appearance on the evening of February 18th. My girlfriend and I were just settling in to watch a movie when I decided to take a quick look online to check the auroral oval. To my surprise, the Kp index was measuring just over 4, which often means that we might see some good lights here. A quick look out the back door of my house revealed that yes indeed, the lights were out! We jumped in the truck and drove a few miles inland from Lake Superior to some better spots for viewing the lights. For the next hour and a half we were treated to a very nice display of green glow peppered with dancing curtains of green, purple and red. It was a spectacular night of Aurora viewing!

I have always found the Aurora Borealis, also known as the northern lights, to be a phenomenon that has eluded me for most of my life — actually all of it — until Saturday evening. Pictured here is my first known view of the northern lights in my life! I first caught sight of the aurora while driving north from Two Harbors to Beaver Bay, MN along the North Shore of Lake Superior. It was not a particularly strong light show, but a test shot with my camera upon arriving at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park quickly revealed that this was the real deal and not just some clouds illuminated by distant city lights. Trying to contain my excitement, I quickly slid on my cleats, donned my headlamp, grabbed my camera gear, and dashed down the the dark trail to the lakeshore. The colors of the aurora were not easy to discern with the naked eye, but with a long (30 second) exposure, the camera allowed some of the dramatic colors to be brought out. Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF 17-40 f/4L @ 25mm, 30s, f/4, ISO 6400

This was an absolutely stunning display or colors and movement from horizon to horizon. Canon 5DII, F4.0, 400-1600asa, 20-30sec exposures.

The Aurora was amazing tonight. With every color in the rainbow present, it was one of the finest nights of Aurora I have seen. As a bonus I caught a rocket that was launched from Poker Flat Research Range in Chatanika, AK.

Tonight's aurora display drew a crowd on my street. Not hard to see why with the dancing green and pink auroras. The extraordinary display started shortly after sunset and well before the light had gone for the day. Red auroras were also visible for portions of the display. Poker Flats Research Range in Chatanika launched a rocket to study how the aurora affects GPS systems tonight. The rocket was easily visible from Fairbanks, 20-30 miles south of the launch site.

What a nice surprise for my birthday! - this faint but rather beautiful aurora appeared before midnight and lasted rite through to until 04.00 on the 19th when I lost it to cloud cover. The aurora was 12 degrees high and easily visible with the naked eye as a green band with subtle red above. I saw an outburst between clouds with numerous vertical rays. Quite a sight on a calm freezing night! Canon 450D with 18mm kit lens and 50mm F/1.8 lens

I was about to do some deepsky astrophotography with the 10" when I noticed that the aurora decided otherwise. I was not expecting this display as nothing was really forecasted. This seems to be the trend nowadays. I am also in the process of putting together a timelapse of this display! WHenever theres a big CME headed to earth, it clouds over. Then when nothing is supposed to happen, the Bz heads south. Im really not complaining. I moved to the northwoods of Wisconsin to get closer to the lights when they do decide to play. Aurora to me trumps astrophotography any day of the week

Was a great show this evening.The lights danced form around 8:00 pm this evening to around 12:30 AM...Still going on just slightly weaker now.

Aurora seemed to have multiple layers, really bright at the bottom and the it faded out at the top. After about 15m condensed down to one main band then had various streaks cycle in and out. Not as bright as some display but well worth enduring the cold temperatures to watch and photograph it. Photo Details: Nikon D3 - 30 second exposures / ISO800 / F2.8 / 15mm Short time lapse viewable at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K8gt8KNrTg

It didn't seem like much at first, but turned into a fairly nice display on a rare clear night along the shore of Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Nikon D700, 17-35mm, 2000ISO, 5s exposure and headlamp on foreground.