APOD: Lapland Northern Lights (2016 Apr 08)

[APOD Robot]

Lapland Northern Lights

Explanation: Early spring in the northern hemisphere is good season for aurora hunters. Near an equinox Earth's magnetic field is oriented to favor interactions with the solar wind that trigger the alluring glow of the northern lights. On March 28/29 the skies over Kaunispää Hill, Lapland, Finland did not disappoint. That night's expansive auroral curtains are captured in this striking panoramic view that covers a full 360 degrees. Local skywatchers were mesmerized by bright displays lasted throughout the dark hours, shimmering with colors easily visible to the naked eye.

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[Boomer12k]

A rainbow at night... just spectacular!!

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[BMAONE23]

Would be fantastic to see these all these APOD 360deg panoramas have a display option for a Google 360 view where you could just grab and pan the images

[Fred the Cat]

I suspect cameras can improve the seeing of color but how much is lost in viewing color with the naked eyes compared to a telescope? Maybe I'll try the lesson then investigate adding this gadget onto my telescope which claims to "bring stunning views of the night sky to a screen in just seconds".

Anyone know how they differ in general from other CCD cameras especially with respect to the need for sophisticated tracking devices?

[Chris Peterson]

I suspect cameras can improve the seeing of color but how much is lost in viewing color with the naked eyes compared to a telescope? Maybe I'll try the lesson then investigate adding this gadget onto my telescope which claims to "bring stunning views of the night sky to a screen in just seconds".

Any CCD camera attached to a telescope will show you more with a couple of seconds of exposure than you can ever see with your eye through an eyepiece. A telescope can't make anything brighter than you see without using a telescope at all, and won't allow you to see color you can't see with the naked eye.

Anyone know how they differ in general from other CCD cameras especially with respect to the need for sophisticated tracking devices?

They are uncooled, and therefore only useful for short exposures (a few seconds or less). Their interface is adapted to video, that is, the rapid production of sequential frames. That's good for transient events, it's good for brighter objects where you can stack images or search for sharper ones. It also means you need no guiding, and only so-so tracking quality.

[heehaw]

What did ancient peoples (Greeks, etc.) think about Northern Lights? Is there any record?

[geckzilla]

What did ancient peoples (Greeks, etc.) think about Northern Lights? Is there any record?

Apparently not much, but they may have thought of them as bad omens.
http://astrogeo.oxfordjournals.org/cont ... /6.15.full

[neufer]

What did ancient peoples (Greeks, etc.) think about Northern Lights? Is there any record?

Apparently not much, but they may have thought of them as bad omens.
http://astrogeo.oxfordjournals.org/cont ... /6.15.full

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

<<In his book "Meteorology", written over 2,350 years ago, Aristotle (384-322 BCE) described [the Northern Lights] as a light which resembled the flames of burning gas. If these flames spread and at the same time sent out sparks and rays, they were called "jumping goats". The ancient Greek scholar observed: "Sometimes on a fine night we see a variety of appearances that form in the sky: 'chasms' for instance and 'trenches' and blood-red colors... For a weak light shining through a dense air, and the air when it acts as a mirror, will cause all kinds of colors to appear, but especially crimson and purple. 'Chasms' get their appearance of depth from light breaking out of a dark blue or black mass of air. When the process of condensation goes further in such a case we often find 'torches' ejected. When the 'chasm' contracts it presents the appearance of a 'trench'."