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Low slung aurora in progress right now.

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The Harray kirk to the right, the lights of Dounby to the left. Another flat and static display tonight but at least we saw some good colour in the last stages. Been a good couple of days, just started a local aurora group on facebook.

Looking across the gardens.

Strugling tonight again. It was as if last night repeated its self, a good looking gap with horizon cloud exposed the dancers in the distance. It wasnt to last long and soon was once again lost to the clouds. So thats me, indoors watching Blues Brothers going back and forth to see if the skys clearing. Think im going to give it up on both counts.

 

KP4.

The sun is barely down. the clouds are barely away, the aurora is barely up, things have barely begun, my battery is barely charged !

Frustration,After missing monday night this was about the best point of Tus night.

A hint of promise for tonight.

and this is the sky now.....again!!

Within three mins of returning outside the cloud rolled over the now clear sky and that was that again...mmmmm

Quick cures for frustration

Frustration reigns just now. I think madness lies just below the surface. There have been four nights of aurora in a row. Tonights show if its up there is somewhere above the sea of rainy cloud the stretches from horizon to horizon, even the horizons are close together. This seemingly constant aurora is coming not from snapping filaments or flares but rather an increased flow of solar wind from an earth facing coronal hole. Its passing now but today I was reading there’s another facing us for three days. Which a bit of luck there will be more fun for the start of the week. The good night for us was Tuesday. But since then its been all cloud and rain.. Last night had lights being photographed way down over the border at Hadrians wall and over on the east coast. Lots of folks got to see some lights even with almost universal scabby skies. Photos and reports from the far north have been full of exciting talk and stunning photos, its heady stuff !!Here the clouds parted at five this morning to reveal some lights but I must say it wasnt me that saw them this morning. I was out fifteen minutes ago for a look and got rained on for my troubles, A quick jump out again as a break from typing right now.......the frustration continues.. I am lucky tho the season just starts although the equinox is prime time in it. There are months of darkness to go and many more nights to come. So maybe this is the blog kicking back in to life........bloody hell I just went out to take a photo of the rainy cloud and light pollution and there is a green swathe of lights beneath a horizon gap. The gap does not get very far north but its green way down to the east....once again the game is afoot, and the wifes about to groan im sure......

Night of the 23rd

It took a while for the sky to clear and the display was very static but at least it was bright. Above is the arc and below the aurora and the milkyway.

Heads up

I know its been raining for hours but there is good activity out there. Glendale on Skye has aurora. The skys have just cleared over Harris and theres a show going on. Looking at Sat24 ther is a noticable looking gap coming towards us. Extrapalating the arival time it looks as if it will be here half twelve one. Theres a lot of ifs hare but if the sky breaks there may well be a lot to see !!!

FOUR SIX SIX FOUR SIX.

The aurora season has started well. This year I have my first DSLR and along with it I have jumped in and bought a Samyang 14mm wide angle lens. So this has replaced my FZ28 which bit the dust getting blown off the garden wall last winter. Going out armed with a nikon compact for the big feb display kindo made up my mind that I needed to be tooled up better. Although we still haven’t had a good big display I have been getting colours I could only dream of with the bridge tho so im pretty chuffed so far. Tonight there was a good strong southerly BZ and the chance of KP4 so it might have gotton good and bright. Almost as soon as the twilight disappeared there was a noticeable glow in the distance. It grew in proportion to the band of cloud across the horizon but never managed to crest it. Cloud cover looked dodgy. Sat24 had shown a good gap in the coming cloud cover but lots more cloud behind and from sundown for an hour and a half or so we had the view to the north. Once gone it wasnt to come back. I just had to be satisfied with reports from lapland of huge bright dancing displays. Ach well thats just the way of it. There is a chance of more over the next couple of days but I think thats No10 by for us tonight,

Starry sky at the Ring of Brodgar.

looking over next door last night.