Aurora Spotting in the Freezing Cold

Yesterday's large amount of geomagnetic unrest in our upper atmosphere gave me plenty of motivation to head out in the early hours of the morning in search of the Aurora Australis.

Initially I'd planned to head out towards the coast, thinking that a clear view south over the ocean would provide some good opportunities to spot the Southern Lights. Another thing was on my mind though - black ice. The chilling temperatures have seen several accidents, including one on the road I used to travel each day from Kaituna, which sadly eventuated in a fatality.

Luckily I did not have to travel too far, just a few kilometers from home in fact, to the edge of the village where there is a better view of the southern skies compared to our place in the trees.

This shot is from five stitched images, all shot at f/2 for 30 seconds, ISO5000. Most of the shots I took this morning were from the relative warmth of the car, thanks to the WiFi remote control feature on the X-T1, but as I had to pan the camera for each of the shots, this was done out in the freezing cold -10ºC air.

As well as the yellow/green/pink glow of aurora there's a heap of airglow visible in the northern sky, and a curious red shaft of light, which I can only assume is related to the aurora.

The red glow from the car the panel light of my stereo, which glows bright even on its lowest setting! 

We're due another display over the next few days, but I think I'll stay home in front of the fire tonight and treat myself to an earlier bedtime. It's already -3ºC outside at just gone 6pm, so that's plenty cold enough already!!