Corona!

On October 11th we were forecast to be hit with another large solar storm and yet again we were treated to another incredible aurora display. Throughout the day I’d been monitoring the auroral Kp index which was hitting some decent numbers, Kp7 and even as high as Kp8! I was getting quite excited, praying the numbers would hold until darkness.  

Around sunset the Kp index was still hovering around Kp7 so I decided to head up a local mountain, Ben Lomond, which overlooks Queenstown. There was a composition up there I’d spotted earlier in the year which I wanted to use for an aurora. It was a bit of a rush to get where I wanted to be but I made it to be set up ready for darkness. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect of this solar storm, as I’ve already mentioned the numbers were high enough for a decent aurora, but there was a 46.6% moon sitting high in the sky, also had a fair bit of broken cloud to contend with.  

For the first hour of darkness there was a huge green haze filling the sky, fairly bright even to the naked eye, but not really any beams that I’d been hoping for. The conditions reminded me of what we experienced back in May this year, which turned out to be an incredible night of aurora activity. With this in mind, I remained hopeful we’d get some decent activity.  

Sure enough the activity in the sky started to pick. I was now seeing strobing light flashing rapidly all over the sky, steadily increasing in intensity, to the point it was like waves crashing through the sky. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and I defiantly wasn’t expecting for what happened next! The sky erupted with massive beams of light, forming a corona directly above my head. The colour was so intense even with a bright moon, and totally visible to the naked eye. I did wonder what it would have been like without the moon.  

The corona didn’t last too long, but I was buzzing about what I’d just witnessed! I also knew I had some shots I’d never imaged possible in New Zealand prior to this year

Even with the corona gone we still had another hour of incredible aurora activity. The entire sky before me was alive with beams of light dancing through the darkness. A truly memorable experience!