Flight To The Lights

I wrote an article for the NZMCA magazine which was recently published so now I can share this incredible once in a lifetime experience with you (if you haven't already read it of course!). I haven't forgotten the next part of the Northland blog either, that's up next.

Oh. My. Goodness. 

I have just had one of the most incredible (& highly anticipated) experiences of my life. Early last year I was invited by Viva Expeditions to join them on a ‘Southern Lights by Flight’ journey to view the Aurora Australis from within the auroral oval, flying thousands of kilometres south of New Zealand towards Antarctica. 

After a couple of Covid related postponements my dream finally came true and on April 1^st (I was hoping the date wasn’t ominous) I joined over 250 other enthusiastic passengers on an Air NZ 787 Dreamliner for a 10 hour return flight over the Southern Ocean.

Led by  Otago Museum director and astronomer Dr Ian Griffin- who organised the first-ever commercial flight to see the Southern Lights in 2017- the flight also included astronomers, astro-photographers and Antarctic Academy Director Miranda Satterthwaite. 

A ‘Pre Flight Mission’ was held  during  the afternoon before our flight where we toured the International Antarctic Centre and listened to & watched  presentations from Ian & Miranda who explained in detail,  information about our flight and what we could expect to see once we reached the auroral zone including information on the Aurora Australis itself. 

Photography workshops where also held with the astro-photographers assisting  guests with handy hints and tips on how to best photograph the aurora and also to help with camera settings for the flight.

 

Aurora flights are timed around the spring & autumn equinoxes when the aurora display is at its brightest. Thanks to a phenomenon called the Russell McPherron effect, auroras are known to be more frequent and brighter than usual in spring and autumn. 

Close to the equinoxes the alignment of the interplanetary magnetic field and Earth’s magnetic field is such that the two opposing fields can cancel each other out. This creates holes in Earth’s magnetosphere through which particles from the solar wind can flow, giving rise to auroras when they interact with the atmosphere. 

The flights are also planned around the moon phase, a bright moon restricts aurora visibility, so flights are timed close to a new moon when the sky is dark.

Once checked in & through security we had a pre-flight meet & greet near our boarding gate and as 7pm approached we made our way to the aircraft, excitement building in anticipation of the flight of our lives. The Dreamliner is the plane of choice because of the large portholes which makes for better aurora viewing. 

Casting an eye over the Departure Board I see that our flight, NZ1914, is flying to Christchurch. An unusual sight as all the listed departures are to other New Zealand cities. Not us; Christchurch to Christchurch with 10hrs lost in the middle somewhere. And I can’t wait!

There are various seating options available but essentially if you travel in economy, you & your neighbours in the row, swap seats every 20-40 minutes during the aurora viewing period. 

But don’t worry, we flew for 6 hours with the aurora on show so there was plenty of time to view the Southern Lights & in fact towards the end only the most obsessive aurora watchers were left ‘standing’, many others had retired to the middle rows or were just happy to listen to what others were seeing.

We departed Christchurch just after 7pm, flying up through the cloud cover and catching the last glow of sunset on the horizon as we headed south-east towards the Antarctic Circle, aiming for Latitude 64 & what is known as ‘magnetic midnight’. 

Though our ultimate flight path would depend on where the aurora was found. Magnetic midnight is the time of day when the magnetic poles align between the Sun and the Earth; it's said to be the optimum time for viewing auroras.

Full in-flight service is available on the flight (dinner, snacks & breakfast) and we’d only just finished dinner- about 2hrs into the flight- when an excited call came through from the flight deck to inform us that the aurora had been spotted on the horizon.  

I leaned into the window trying to shield the camera from the cabin lights & clicked a couple of photos off just to be sure they weren’t fibbing & sure enough two bright green auroral bands appeared on my camera’s back screen. There was a hurried rush around the cabin to clear the trays and turn the entertainment screens & interior lights off. 

The most important thing to do to view an aurora is to allow our eyes to adjust to the darkness. It can take up to 20 minutes for our pupils to fully dilate and even a glimpse of bright light for just a few seconds will set your dark adaptation back several minutes. This is why there is complete darkness in the cabin of the aircraft and also why people with cameras need to have them ready to go before the flight. 

To enhance the aurora viewing experience even further the plane has permission to fly in 'stealth mode', with all outside navigation lights turned off. Of course there are no other planes within thousands of kilometres; we’re the only ones flying around a dark empty sky on some crazy mission looking for an incredible light show. 

In the cabin around me the excitement was palpable as we approached the aurora and then, with everyone seated, cameras ready & eyes adjusted to the darkness, we entered one of nature’s most stunning, magnificent & unforgettable displays of power. 

For 6 hours we flew under, over & through the aurora, weaving our way back & forward over the Southern Ocean, crossing the International Dateline numerous times, the pilots often banking the plane, left & right so both sides were able to view the depth & height of the display. 

The star trails you can see in some of my photos weren’t caused by a slow shutter speed as is usually the case, the trails are caused by the banking plane, lovely graceful movements. 

We flew directly beneath a corona several times- the crown or centre of an aurora burst- the ultimate position to be to watch a burst of activity. I was lucky enough to capture the side of an exploding display a couple of times. 

And I know what  many of you will be thinking as you read this, ‘ Yes that’s all very well, but can you see the aurora with the naked eye?’  And the answer? Hell yes, you sure can! 

Though our eyes aren't sensitive enough to see the bright colours that show on the camera screen & in photos, you can sometimes see a hint of green & pink, with younger eyes seeing more colour. 

I could certainly see the huge shimmering curtains and pulsing waves as the aurora moved about, along with shooting beams reaching from far below us to high into the heavens above. An aurora becomes visible when high-energy particles from the sun rain down on Earth. 

As these particles get closer to us, they interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and this channels them in the direction of both magnetic poles (hence only seeing the aurora close to the South or North Poles). As the particles are accelerated downwards, they hit atoms in our upper atmosphere (ranging from 90km to 700km high) and this process results in a glowing field of excited gas. 

This is what gives us an incredible natural light show and the range of colours;  oxygen causes the fluorescent green and yellow colour of the aurora (the most common), nitrogen the blue and red colours and sometimes pink, while neon turns the aurora orange.

After what felt like a very short time but turned out to be six hours later, the pilots did a final bank, the aircraft turned & we headed for home leaving dancing beams & a bright green band far behind us. I was still clicking photos as the cabin lights came back on and the plane filled with chatter & the lovely aroma of coffee & breakfast which was soon to be served.

What more can I say? If you hadn’t already gathered as much, I had the most amazing, incredible experience ever, and I would highly recommend the trip to anyone who would like to take a unique, once in a lifetime trip to witness one of the world’s most magical phenomena. 

No worries if you’re not a photographer either, Viva, with the courtesy of the astro-photogs on board, supplies copies of the best photos for all the passengers to download. So you can sit back, relax  & enjoy the show of your life. 

For an aurora chaser like myself this was the ultimate nirvana & guess what? I get to do it all again. I’ve been invited back for a September flight to help out with the photography (update- the fully booked September 2022 flights have been cancelled as Air NZ need their planes for international flights after Covid 19, here's hoping the flights in March 2023 go ahead.
ETA- In fact the March 2023 flights didn't go ahead either & since then, there's been no mention of any further  flights). 

 

Shellie was a guest of Viva Expeditions

Absolutely Amazing Aurora

Real-time 

How exciting is this! A week ago today and two nights before we left Southland, the most amazing mind-blowing aurora lit up the southern skies. And I was lucky enough to have a front row seat....well nearly front row, Winton is probably about 3 rows back.

And what was that I said about not being bitten by the aurora chasing bug? This was too good an opportunity to miss; this was what I've been waiting three years to see.

The Aurora Facebook page members had been on high alert all afternoon as the Kp number soared and the Solar Wind Gauge needles went beserk. The Kp number measures the strength of the aurora. It runs from 0 (very weak) to 9, which indicates a major geomagnetic storm with strong auroras. Anything above Kp5 is classed as a geomagnetic storm. It mostly sits at around a benign Kp1 to Kp3 but on Sunday afternoon, May 28th, the Kp was a very strong Kp7 to 8.

Of course nothing could be seen during daylight hours, so all fingers were crossed as we waited in anticipation, hoping it would carry on into the evening. With a clear cloudless sky and an early setting moon due, the scene was set for the perfect night to view the Southern Lights.

I kept one eye on the Aurora Alert page and the other out the door as the sun headed for the horizon. When I couldn't wait any longer, around 6pm, I gathered up my gear and headed out into the fading twilight. Winton unfortunately is very flat and quite featureless but I drove around to the sports field I'd checked out earlier in the afternoon, I knew it had a clear view to the south. I could have cried when I saw that a neighbour had set fire to a huge pile of shelterbelt trimmings and thick grey smoke was wafting across my south view. So much for doing a recce trip.

I carried on down a backroad until a gap opened up between shelterbelts. I set up the tripod and camera in the light of the 'blue hour' and watched as an unusual shaped cloudy white formation came into view, reaching out across the paddock towards me. Darn. Fog I thought, as I took a shot.

I checked the Live View on the back of my camera and to my astonishment a pale green 'starfish' came to life. Oh my giddy-aunt! This was indeed an aurora! If I have one big tip for photographers new to capturing the lights, never, ever assume what you're seeing isn't an aurora until after you've taken a shot or two.

The green waves rolled across the horizon and the 'pinwheel' looked like it was spinning on it's axis, a bit like those fairground rides with the seats on the end of each arm. I watched in awe not quite believing what I was seeing and wishing I had someone to share this spectacular sight with. Instead, all I got was a dozy possum wandering past. He stopped to glance in my direction and bolted off into the undergrowth when I said hello.

The reason it's taken so long to bring you this post is because once again it's been a long and slow task processing the photos. This wasn't helped by having a couple of hundred shots to check and finding that most of them were extraordinary! It was like watching the aurora all over again in slow-mo. Thanks to a few more processing tips offered by a member of the Aurora Facebook page I also managed the processing a little better than last time. 

These first few shots were taken in the blue hour hence the sky is a lot....well, bluer. But remember the camera sensor sees the intense colours that the naked eye doesn't. I've included a couple of 'naked eye' shots further down to keep things in perspective. I just know that there will be people out there who'll be extremely disappointed when they set their sights on seeing an aurora that looks like the many beautiful photos on the internet and in the media. 

Anyway, enough of the talk, here are a few of my favourite captures (with short explanations as I move around the Winton area). Sit back and enjoy, and watch for the shooting stars.

As the waves settled and 'arms' dispersed, an intense lime green rose above the horizon...

And then sparkling beams broke through and shot up into the heavens...

Here's a 'naked eye' view of the photo above. There was just a hint of green and a tinge of pink, but the swirls and movement, and the beams were very clear to the eye. 

Fog (real fog) started moving across the paddock from the nearby river so I headed away, looking for another clear view. I'd only moved a short distance when the sky lit up again. I quickly stopped and took more photos...

This time a curtain of cerise tinged beams reached from one side of the aurora to the other; far too wide for my wide angle lens (11mm) to capture. One of the downsides of being so close to the bottom of the South Island. To the left...

And the right. The fog also caught up with me.

I waited for the beams to quieten down a little before heading off again, along dark back country roads towards Riverton. I could see the aurora out the front window as I drove and when the beams stepped it up another notch, there was nothing for it but to pull onto the verge and shoot some more. 

Here's another 'naked eye' view of the aurora playing in front of me, the colour was now quite visible.

And here is a poor panoramic of the aurora- two photos stitched together. Have you ever tried to take consecutive photos, on a tripod, keeping the camera on the same plain when it's pitch black and you can see very little through the viewfinder? I really need to do some practice. I am in awe of astrophotogs, theirs is a tough row to hoe.  The orange light on the horizon is the glow from Invercargill city.

I decided that if I went any further, I'd likely miss more of the aurora and then not have time to find an ideal place on the coast near Riverton so I reluctantly turned around and headed back towards the main road and Winton. The aurora sparked off again as I neared Winton, I could actually see the beams dancing in my rear-vision mirror. I pulled over into a large lay-by on the main road. In my excitement I left the side lights on. This photo captured my tail lights and the beam of cars approaching.

The aurora once again stepped up another notch, bouncing across the sky in all it's splendour and in full view of approaching traffic from the north. I couldn't help but wonder if any of the cars actually saw what was happening in front of them. I wanted to shout out 'Stop. Look, look at this magnificent sight!'

Unfortunately vehicle headlights kept disrupting my shots so it was time to move again.

I ended up at a familiar spot, parked beside the Winton settlement ponds again, where I'd watched the last aurora 6 weeks ago. Here's another pano after the beams had settled a little.  Isn't that green just delicious. You can also see that blasted fog creeping in from the right again.

It wasn't long before the sky lit up. This aurora just keeps on giving. And I failed to see that there's a security light on a building behind me and across the road, it's lighting up the foreground. You don't actually see this in real life, it's quite dark but of course the slow shutter speed (4secs here) lets in all the light.

This time the beams rolled back and forward across the sky for a very long time. It was a truly amazing spectacle and once again I wished someone was there to share it with me. As the beams sparked and jumped into the heavens, I even shouted out to the nearby cows, 'WOW, did you see that?!"

Though, word had obviously got around that there was an 'once in a life-time' aurora happening because vehicles kept pulling up behind me AND NOT TURNING THEIR LIGHTS OFF! They'd stay for a few minutes and then head off again. Some didn't even bother to get out of the car! 

Now this one is a very bad pano but I mucked about with it too much to spend anymore time on it- the colours are a little too bright but at least you can see why this aurora was such a thrill to see.

And just when I thought I'd see it all, the curtain of beams dissolved and were replaced by several single bright beams shooting into the sky.

Some grew in size others died down. More cars arrived...and went.

I stayed on for awhile until the beams died down, and then it was time to head for home. For over three and a half hours I had an utterly amazing, magical and spectacular experience, viewing (and chasing) the beautiful Aurora Australis, the Southern Lights. May 28th, 2017 will be a night to remember for a very long time. It was also one of the best aurora nights many long term chasers had viewed as well. 

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience (and a definite highlight) and I'm so happy it happened just before we left Winton. I think Him upstairs heard me bemoaning the fact that I hadn't seen a good aurora in six weeks- 'Let's put her out of her misery, one last fling and make it a good one', He said to Lady Aurora. I think I'm now well and truly hooked. 

And for those that want to capture an aurora, here's a few tips-

And just a note to let you know that I'll be off the grid for a few days so any comments or queries might not be answered straight away.