Flying through an aurora, like going through a giant neon sign
September 13, 2014 3:33 PM Subscribe
European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst captured this photograph from the International Space Station and tweeted "Words can't describe how it feels flying through an #aurora. I wouldn't even know where to begin..." Not many can share his experience, but photographer Paul Williams captured an aurora while on a flight from London to New York (stills on Flickr). NASA's Science News has an article on Flying Through a Geomagnetic Storm, with information on how auroras are formed, and a bit more on what it's like to fly through them, with an accompanying video (previously).
For the record, I'm pretty sure the Paul Williams' aurora video is time lapse. I've seen enough time lapse long exposure aurora videos to be pretty sure I'll be a little disappointed when I see them in real life :/
posted by Captain Chesapeake at 4:06 PM on September 13, 2014
posted by Captain Chesapeake at 4:06 PM on September 13, 2014
Man, if I was Paul Williams it'd be killing me to not be able to get better shots than anything possible through those plane windows.
posted by nevercalm at 4:10 PM on September 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by nevercalm at 4:10 PM on September 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yes, Paul Williams' video is a timelapse, as are most (all?) aurora images and videos. I don't think the real auroras are quite so vivid without timelapse.
posted by filthy light thief at 4:33 PM on September 13, 2014
posted by filthy light thief at 4:33 PM on September 13, 2014
What real-life aurora lack in speed they make up in size.
posted by RobotHero at 4:44 PM on September 13, 2014
posted by RobotHero at 4:44 PM on September 13, 2014
Fellow impatient Mefites: in the "accompanying video" link they finally dispense with the still photo BS and get around to the video around the 1:40 mark.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:07 PM on September 13, 2014
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:07 PM on September 13, 2014
I don't think the real auroras are quite so vivid without timelapse.
Not all the time. But when they are....
Wowee.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 6:26 PM on September 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
Not all the time. But when they are....
Wowee.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 6:26 PM on September 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
And now for the bad news: I wonder how much of a radiation load he just took on...
Charged particles hitting metal make X-rays.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:40 PM on September 13, 2014
Charged particles hitting metal make X-rays.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:40 PM on September 13, 2014
I don't think the real auroras are quite so vivid without timelapse
I always wondered that. As in, looks cool on timelapse film, but being there in person, you get to see faint green smudges?
posted by slater at 7:00 PM on September 13, 2014
I always wondered that. As in, looks cool on timelapse film, but being there in person, you get to see faint green smudges?
posted by slater at 7:00 PM on September 13, 2014
I don't think the real auroras are quite so vivid without timelapse
I always wondered that. As in, looks cool on timelapse film, but being there in person, you get to see faint green smudges?
I've been there, just short of the Arctic Circle. No time lapse required. It really does dance all on its own. It was about forty years ago and it still stands as one of a small handful of things I suspect I'll still recall with awe in my final conscious moments.
It helped that it was mid-August, so there was still a fair bit of light in sky along the southern horizon, sort of a perpetual deep sunset, all reds and purples ... but the sky overhead was very much night, with stars and planets ... and the aurora
posted by philip-random at 8:04 PM on September 13, 2014 [3 favorites]
I always wondered that. As in, looks cool on timelapse film, but being there in person, you get to see faint green smudges?
I've been there, just short of the Arctic Circle. No time lapse required. It really does dance all on its own. It was about forty years ago and it still stands as one of a small handful of things I suspect I'll still recall with awe in my final conscious moments.
It helped that it was mid-August, so there was still a fair bit of light in sky along the southern horizon, sort of a perpetual deep sunset, all reds and purples ... but the sky overhead was very much night, with stars and planets ... and the aurora
posted by philip-random at 8:04 PM on September 13, 2014 [3 favorites]
I don't think the real auroras are quite so vivid without timelapse.
What real-life aurora lack in speed they make up in size.
When I saw an aurora for the first time, the thing that was most stunning was the speed. Still photographs make it look like a painting on a canvas and time-lapse makes it look jerky and unreal ... but damn, the speed at which the real thing streaked, appeared and disappeared was breathtaking.
posted by pjenks at 8:48 PM on September 13, 2014 [4 favorites]
What real-life aurora lack in speed they make up in size.
When I saw an aurora for the first time, the thing that was most stunning was the speed. Still photographs make it look like a painting on a canvas and time-lapse makes it look jerky and unreal ... but damn, the speed at which the real thing streaked, appeared and disappeared was breathtaking.
posted by pjenks at 8:48 PM on September 13, 2014 [4 favorites]
I lived one summer in Alaska working swing shift and the Aurora was a nightly occurance. It was very dynamic as well as faster and more ephemeral than you see in these videos. It somehow seemed to make sense like a beam cast by the headlights of a car that is driving toward you from the other side of a far away hill.
posted by vapidave at 9:52 PM on September 13, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by vapidave at 9:52 PM on September 13, 2014 [2 favorites]
It kills me that I will never be able to see these things IRL. I can only try to soothe myself by remembering that at least I live in a time where I'm lucky enough to see photos and video of such majestic phenomena.
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 10:35 PM on September 13, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 10:35 PM on September 13, 2014 [2 favorites]
"Words can't describe how it feels flying through an #aurora. I wouldn't even know where to begin..."
Yeah, but somewhere there's a hack sci-fi screenwriter who finished that sentence in his head: "...but when we came out the other side, a THING followed along with us!" He then cancelled all his appointments for the next day and bought a bag of "working" cocaine.
posted by JHarris at 11:07 PM on September 13, 2014 [2 favorites]
Yeah, but somewhere there's a hack sci-fi screenwriter who finished that sentence in his head: "...but when we came out the other side, a THING followed along with us!" He then cancelled all his appointments for the next day and bought a bag of "working" cocaine.
posted by JHarris at 11:07 PM on September 13, 2014 [2 favorites]
clearly, I need to do more "working" cocaine.
posted by philip-random at 11:24 PM on September 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by philip-random at 11:24 PM on September 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
Pretty!
posted by homunculus at 5:27 PM on September 14, 2014
posted by homunculus at 5:27 PM on September 14, 2014
“Aurora Substorm - Real time motion”—kwon, o chul, 26 January 2014
“Aurora, real time vs time-lapse”—kwon, o chul, 22 August 2014
posted by ob1quixote at 12:55 AM on September 19, 2014
“Aurora, real time vs time-lapse”—kwon, o chul, 22 August 2014
posted by ob1quixote at 12:55 AM on September 19, 2014
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Watch full screen, highest quality, in a dark room, with the music up. On both Vimeo and YouTube.
posted by Wordshore at 3:47 PM on September 13, 2014 [7 favorites]