Curt wrote:Regarding the Aurora Borealis, yes, it can be seen this far south but only rarely, and never if you are not looking towards the north.
Curt, I will have to disagree with you on the last part of your statement. I have photographs of the Aurora Borealis taken here in New Brunswick only a couple hours drive from Hopewell Cape where the lights stretched across the night sky all they way to the south east and west. I would have to look them up but I seem to remember it being about mid-October in 2006. But regardless, I would have to agree that it is probably not the Northern Lights in this case.
The source photographer said he had set up two LED lights, which you can plainly see the effects of. But there are also more distant light sources from across the Petitcodiac River, and background light from the nearby communities, including the City of Moncton. Time lapse photography, especially at night, has a wonderful way of capturing events the human eye did not or could not see. It also may represent those events in a manner that doesn't allow us to clearly interpret their source. (Dust particles illuminated by a flash have fooled countless people into believing they've photographed ghosts.) In addition to the incoming tide, wind, and the passing of time there are a number of variables that the camera didn't capture: temperature and atmospheric moisture are a couple for example. The clouds in the photos could very likely be fog and there is no easy way to tell its altitude. My theory is that it is a combination of the long exposure capturing the lights from various sources reflecting off what may be low, early morning fog. Why is it green? My best guess: maybe the combination of a long exposure, the orange glow of background light and the blue/white glow of the LEDs mixing and reflecting off the surrounding rocks, incoming brown muddy tidal water and low fog. It would be interesting if someone could reproduce it.