Quote:
Originally Posted by edelweiss
Hello everyone
Does aurora has exact time/period/season?
I'm going to NZ (south island) by the end of this month and wondering whether i can see any aurora there.
PS: can sony a5000/6000 can snap milky way picture?
PSS: those who're living in perth, is there any place that i can rent dslr for short period of time (12 days?)
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Aurora's occur when a solar flare occurs and projects in the direction of the Earth. They are not exact in timing or period of recurrance however there are some prediction services that give you fairly accurate predictions up to 30 mins ahead and less accurate predictions a few days ahead.
30 minute forecast
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/au...inute-forecast
3 day forecast
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-3-day-forecast
Whether you can see it, depends on the stregth of the solar flare, it's direction and the latitude you are at. Nobody can tell you for sure where or when to be.
Best auroral displays are visible from latitudes around 70 deg in the northern hemisphere and around the equinoxes. They are stronger at solar maximum and weaker at solar minimum. Remember that at high latitudes, the days are long and the nights short or even non-existent depending on latitude
Even Invercagill is only 46 deg south. Less than the latitude of London and 25 degrees north of 70 deg south. Invercagill only has about 5 hrs of astronomical twilight by early December.
So if a really big solar storm hits while you are there, you might see it but don't hold your breath. Definitely give it a go.
Your Sony A6000 should definitely be able to capture the aurora. No need to hire.
Joe