Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery -- Summer 2008: Page 3

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Summer 2008

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Observing tips: Look west 30 to 60 minutes after sunset when the Sun has dipped 6^o to 16^o below the horizon. If you see luminous blue-white tendrils spreading across the sky, you've probably spotted a noctilucent cloud. Although noctilucent clouds appear most often at arctic latitudes, they have been sighted in recent years as far south as Colorado, Utah and Virginia. NLCs are seasonal, appearing most often in late spring and summer. In the northern hemisphere, the best time to look would be between mid-May and the end of August. See also 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

	Photographer, Location	Images	Comments
[movie]	Torcuill Torrance, Newtonhill, Aberdeenshire, UK Jun. 19, 2008	#1, #2, #3, more Bonus: 5 MB movie.	Beautiful flood of NLC. Taken using Canon 350D (astro modded) at f/5.6 and a Phottix intervalometer set for one frame per minute
	John C McConnell, Maghaberry Northern Ireland. Jun. 20, 2008	#1, #2	The NLC season just gets better every night here in Northern Ireland.This was a great show this morning with a very extensive dislpay reaching right across the sky from NW to NE, it was the best so far with hopefully more to come. Photo details: Canon 400D, ISO400, 8 seconds at f5.6.
	Conor McDonald, Northern Ireland, Co.Derry, Maghera Jun. 21, 2008	#1, #2, #3, #4	Last night's display was truly amazing, the complex twists and crosses were as good as I have ever seen them.
	Martin Mc Kenna, Maghera, Co. Derry, N. Ireland Jun. 20, 2008	#1, #2, #3, #4, more	This was an incredible NLC display and without doubt the brightest and most intense display of the 2008 season to date. It was over 100 degrees long and 15 degrees high sporting stunning silver bands and other complex structures. The display seemed to change size and shape by the minute with other subtle atmospheric colours such as electric blue, orange, and even green. It was so bright it would have been spotted by members of the public with even a casual glance. The highlight of the 2008 season so far. I couldn't take my eyes away from it! Photo details: Fuji Finepix S6500fd 6.3MP at ISO100 and 5-6.6 sec exposures.
	Paul Evans, Larne, Northern Ireland, UK Jun. 20, 2008	#1, #2, #3, #4, more	This display appeared quite suddenly out of the twilight - we had a clear sky, - I looked out 10mins later and this display was appearing. It was a low one - only 10deg above the horizon and 60 deg wide, but probably the brightest I've ever seen. Photo details: Sony A700, 16-105mm lens, 4secs at f5.6

more images (June 20): from Mike Alexander of Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland

Northern Lights Photo Gallery: A solar wind stream hit Earth on May 20th causing a mild geomagnetic storm and Northern Lights around the Arctic Circle. The auroras of May 21st were so bright, they were visible in the twilight blue sky above Nunavik, Quebec.

"The sky is blue at 1 o'clock in the morning when I took these pictures," says photographer Sylvain Serre. "At our latitude at this time of year, it is blue all night long--and it's never a dark blue. So, at 1 o'clock in the morning, the sky is bright and I can see only a few stars."

In spite of this extra glare, Serre was able to see the auroras. "I saw them with my unaided eyes. The clouds made it difficult, but the clouds were moving slowly while the northern lights were moving faster." This, plus the green color of the auroras, made it possible to sort things out.