1st of June 2025 Aurora Australis
Hello friends,
On the 1st of June in New Zealand, aurora chasers all over New Zealand were treated to an amazing Aurora Australis display thanks to a a strong geomagnetic storm stemming from a coronal mass ejection from the sun.
As we live in Dunedin, in Otago, we were treated to a auroral display right in our own backyard. The pastel shades of green, pink, purple and teal lit up the sky above us. We were also treated with auroral pillars which rose up the aurora in rays of light.
My astrophotography set up is as follows for those interested:
Canon EOS 700D Body, Samyang Ultra Wide AF 14mm F2.8 EF Lens set to infinity focus (ultrawide lens set up for astrophotography), Protage USB lens heater (needed for cold nights so that the lens doesn't form condensation on the inside), and a remote control attached to the camera to take shake free photos, and a tripod.
My camera settings are: Manual Focus, f2.8 at infinity (on the lens), ISO 3200, Image Quality Raw, long exposure noise reduction off, high Iso speed noise reduction off, white balance set to 4000K, shutter speed 5" to 10" depending on the strength of the aurora, and Custom function III: autofocus drive mirror lock up enabled.
The camera settings are based from am astrophotography workshop I took with Mark Gee about 10 years ago, and I've refined them since then as I got to know my camera better. Just something to note is that all these photos are straight out of the back of the camera, I didn't want to alter anything in my photography software afterward.
With the aurora being so active, in the range of Kp7 - Kp8, we decided to head out to our favorite aurora photography viewing area at Blackhead Beach. When we arrived, the car park was quite empty, but it soon filled up with general members of the public coming to see the aurora. Unfortunately there was a lot of light contamination from the cars in the car park, as well as cars driving on the road behind us, which made for a frustrating photography session.
By the time we got there, the aurora was more muted and smaller than before, but there was still some great photos, despite the light pollution and also a cloud bank to the south of us. Shades of green, red, and purple were the most prominent, along with auroral pillars in shades of green, white and red.
Thanks to the position of the milky way and sky at the moment, I was able to get photographs of the Magellanic Clouds in my aurora photos.
As time went on the aurora became dimmer, and we became colder, as it was a cold frosty night in the beginning of winter. After two hours out in the cold we decided to head home to warm up before going to bed.
The aurora brightened again after we went home, but we were just happy to see it in the first place. There will be more chances to see auroras in the future, and hopefully on a warmer night.
Have a wonderful day.
Julie-Ann
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