Red sky at night: with Kenley observatory bottom left of this photo, the Aurora Borealis as seen this week is shown at its colourful best. Photo © Graham Cluer
The star-gazers at Kenley observatory got a real eye-full this week, enabling them to produce some stunning photographs of the Aurora Borealis, as the Northern Lights came south once again.
Seeing the Aurora used to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, usually requiring a special trip to the Arctic Circle, or at least the far north of Scotland.
But the Northern Lights seem to have been coming further south in recent times, and have been more frequently seen, too. This week’s breath-taking display across our clear skies was possibly the third time this year that the Aurora has been visible in Croydon.
Astronomers suggest that it won’t be the last time we’ll be seeing the Northern Lights this far south, too.
The Aurora Borealis is more visible now due to the Sun being at what astronomers say is the maximum of its 11-year solar cycle.
Roughly every 11 years the Sun’s magnetic poles flip, and the Sun transitions from sluggish to active and stormy. Astronomers are able to observe more bright flares and solar eruptions on the Sun.
The current 11-year cycle started in 2019 and is expected to peak next year.
According to the BBC, “The solar eruptions that caused the latest round of sparkling lights in the night sky began on October 8, when a huge sunspot erupted on the sun’s surface 93million miles away.
“The eruption sent a stream of electrically charged particles called ions towards Earth. This stream is known as solar wind.
“Aurora displays occur when the charged particles collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere around the magnetic poles.
“As they collide, light is emitted at various wavelengths, creating colourful blinking and swirling displays in the sky.”
Photo finish: Cluer, the secretary of the Croydon Astronomical Society, stepped away from the Kenley observatory on Thursday to get this view of the Northern Lights. Photo © Graham Cluer
And while this would normally occur near the Arctic Circle, when solar activity is strong, this can expand to cover a greater area, and occur more frequently.
So look out for more signs of solar activity in the coming months. To get a good view, make sure that you’re in a dark place – away from artificial sources of light.
Graham Cluer, the secretary of the Croydon Astronomical Society, who sent the photographs to Inside Croydon (you can make out the silhouette of the Kenley observatory at the bottom of both images), says that his pictures were taken on October 10, and that using a camera, even one on your smartphone, is often the best way to see the Northern Lights.
“The camera sees things in the dark that your eye has difficulty in seeing – especially in colour,” Cluer said.
“Put your camera on a tripod and use a high ISO and a long shutter speed (a few seconds),” he recommends.
“Go to a dark site. Don’t expect the Aurora to look nearly as good to the unaided eye.
“But if all you have is a mobile phone it is still worth trying.”
And Cluer encourages anyone with a growing, and glowing, interest in the night sky to pay the observatory at Kenley a visit. “We try to open the observatory for public visits any Saturday that it is clear. See announcements on our website.”
- And that can be found by clicking here: www.croydonastro.org.uk
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