Aurora Australis from Wilsons Prom (17-01-2013 14:20 UT) (Added More Images)

[colinmlegg (Colin)]

Hi all,

I made a last minute dash across Victoria last Thursday to witness my first CME impact at Wilsons Prom at 1.20 am Friday morning (18-01-2013). I was hoping to observe from the SW coast, but cloud was predicted so had to move east. I'd done some nightscapes from Wilsons Prom the previous Thursday, so knew it was good for south viewing.

The CME hit with a burst. Within a minute the aurora went from nothing to naked eye. After a couple of minutes it died down. 10 minutes later it ignited again, with more red. I could see the rays to the right of the attached image naked eye, and just make out a faint orange colour.

Conditions on Norman Beach were hot with a moderate north wind. Bioluminescence lit up the waves. There were lots of people wandering around earlier, but by 1.20 they were gone. A couple of drunks did wander by though around 3 asking if they could stand in front of my timelapsing cam

Thanks for looking

Colin

ps. Added 3 additional images. The 4th was taken 3 minutes after CME impact when the KP index was around 5.

[Lester]

Fantastic view Colin. Beautiful colour.

[apaulo (Paul)]

Hi Colin

What a beautiful image you have there.. I have been chasing and imaging aurorae over a year now and the results never cease to amaze me.
Wilson Prom beholds fantastic dark skies with excellent backgrounds, something I believe you have captured quite well.

The k-index was estimated to peak 5 at 2am but as time progressed the flare headed towards the northern hemisphere instead. We decided to stay in bed but maybe we should of had a crack at it?

Not often I am moved to reply to an image, same old stuff etc etc, but your image is a cracka..

Paul.

[colinmlegg (Colin)]

Originally Posted by Lester

Fantastic view Colin. Beautiful colour.

Thanks Lester. Any luck last night? I'm in your general neck of the woods tonight... hoping to shoot Island Lagoon near Woomera. Then across the Nullarbor and home.

Originally Posted by apaulo

Hi Colin

What a beautiful image you have there.. I have been chasing and imaging aurorae over a year now and the results never cease to amaze me.
Wilson Prom beholds fantastic dark skies with excellent backgrounds, something I believe you have captured quite well.

The k-index was estimated to peak 5 at 2am but as time progressed the flare headed towards the northern hemisphere instead. We decided to stay in bed but maybe we should of had a crack at it?

Not often I am moved to reply to an image, same old stuff etc etc, but your image is a cracka..

Paul.

Thanks Paul. It's been a long chase for me. I've been hanging around the south coast for a couple of months now and thought my time was up and was about to head back to Perth. Then I saw the CME impact forecast and decided to stay for one last effort. Glad I did. Makes me wish I was still living in Vic. Good luck for the next one

[h0ughy (David)]

make the effort get the reward - fantastic result

[RB (Andrew)]

Wow what a gorgeous scene.

[CapturingTheNight (Greg)]

You already know how much I adore this one Colin but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to say it again- Absolutely gorgeous! Persistence certainly pays off. I hope I don't have to wait around for two months to get the aurora shot I want, when I travel back to Tas.

[iceman (Mike)]

Stunning as usual. Brilliant.

[Octane (Humayun)]

Completely and utterly beautiful.

You are a lucky soul to not only witness, but also capture this treasure!

H

[RickS (Rick)]

Very nice, Colin! It's interesting to see the difference that a bit of distance makes. I think the preponderance of red we see in southern aurora pics is because we're further away and see more of the high altitude red and less of the lower altitude green. My images from Norway are mostly green with hints of red and purple.

Cheers,
Rick.

[Larryp (Laurie)]

Lovely photo, Colin. Colour is superb!

[alexch (Alex)]

Nice red Aurora and reflection with bioluminescence to boot! Simply stunning!

[gregbradley]

Stunning capture.

Greg.

[Derek Klepp]

Thanks Colin I'd just be happy to see the Aurora. The framing with the milky way and M clouds really makes for a great pic added to that the reflections in the water this really is a great astronomical pic. I think you should send it to all the Northern Hemisphere magazines so those up north can see what the,re missing out on.
Cheers Derek

[Scorpius51 (John)]

What an absolute cracker of a shot! Well done, Colin.

[Paul Haese]

Lovely image Colin. Great colour and well framed.

[Liz]

Stunning Colin!!

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

What a lovely image Colin, it's similar to a few taken in recent times but this one somehow looks to have ticked all the boxes to my eye...nice to not see the obligatory Photoshop meteor in it too ... people do it

Mike

[colinmlegg (Colin)]

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

What a lovely image Colin, it's similar to a few taken in recent times but this one somehow looks to have ticked all the boxes to my eye...nice to not see the obligatory Photoshop meteor in it too ... people do it

Mike

Thanks Mike. No meteor needed on this one..

Originally Posted by Liz

Stunning Colin!!

Thanks Liz.

Originally Posted by Paul Haese

Lovely image Colin. Great colour and well framed.

Originally Posted by Scorpius51

What an absolute cracker of a shot! Well done, Colin.

Thanks Paul.

Originally Posted by Derek Klepp

Thanks Colin I'd just be happy to see the Aurora. The framing with the milky way and M clouds really makes for a great pic added to that the reflections in the water this really is a great astronomical pic. I think you should send it to all the Northern Hemisphere magazines so those up north can see what the,re missing out on.
Cheers Derek

Thanks for the suggestion, Derek. I'll give it a shot when I return to Perth.

Originally Posted by gregbradley

Stunning capture.

Greg.

Thanks Greg.

Originally Posted by alexch

Nice red Aurora and reflection with bioluminescence to boot! Simply stunning!

Thanks Alex. Your work is always an inspiration. mate. Keep at it.

Originally Posted by Larryp

Lovely photo, Colin. Colour is superb!

Thanks Larry.

Originally Posted by RickS

Very nice, Colin! It's interesting to see the difference that a bit of distance makes. I think the preponderance of red we see in southern aurora pics is because we're further away and see more of the high altitude red and less of the lower altitude green. My images from Norway are mostly green with hints of red and purple.

Cheers,
Rick.

Thanks Rick. Yes, and we don't get to see many images from the south. Some of the best images I've seen are from mid latitudes.

Originally Posted by Octane

Completely and utterly beautiful.

You are a lucky soul to not only witness, but also capture this treasure!

H

Thanks mate. Would have been great to share it with like minded people. The beach was deserted... a crying shame.

Originally Posted by iceman

Stunning as usual. Brilliant.

Thanks Mike.

Originally Posted by obsidianphotos

You already know how much I adore this one Colin but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to say it again- Absolutely gorgeous! Persistence certainly pays off. I hope I don't have to wait around for two months to get the aurora shot I want, when I travel back to Tas.

I'm sure you'll nail another one, Greg. Good luck in Tas.

Originally Posted by RB

Wow what a gorgeous scene.

Thanks RB.

Originally Posted by h0ughy

make the effort get the reward - fantastic result

Thanks houghy. Glad I made the effort.

[Ross G]

A beautiful capture Colin.

Ross.