The night of May 10th 2024 will go down in the annals of sky watchers as a once in a lifetime spectacular.
With increased sunspot activity flinging unimaginable quantities of charged particles earthwards we were treated to a display of the northern lights, or aurora borealis, that was unprecedented in its intensity and reach.
Normally my wife Liz and I watch for the aurora at our relatively northern latitude of 53°N, but on this particular evening we were as far south as it's possible to get on mainland Britain.
In fact, we were on a cruise ship, just having departed from Southampton and were making our way eastwards along the English Channel.
But even this far south we could still make out a green glow above the horizon with the naked eye.
So I wasted no time in setting up my camera on the balcony of our cabin, fortunately looking north, and set it off capturing the hundred of still images needed to create these few seconds of time lapse video.
And looking at the images on the camera's rear screen as they were being taken just blew us away, as the majesty of this amazing solar event was revealed.
I just hope we get to repeat the experience once we're back on solid ground up in North Wales!
Filename - channel aurora timelapse 01
Camera - Canon EOS 6DMK2
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 24mm
Exposure (start of sequence) - 10 secs @ f/4, ISO1600
Exposure (end of sequence) - 10 secs @ f/4, ISO1600
Filters - None.
Shooting interval - 10 seconds
Location - The English Channel, to the east of the Isle of Wight
Music - Night Snow - Asher Fulero
This clip - HD 720p, 30fps (4K and 1080p HD formats also available)
Clip duration - 16 seconds
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2024 unless otherwise stated.