Nordlys

It has been an extraordinarily warm and dry winter in Norway; Trondheim set a new record for the warmest Christmas Eve, driest January since 1950-something, and warmest day in February. Additionally, the sun is near the maximum of its 10-year activity cycle so the conditions are about as good as they can get for seeing the Northern Lights in Trondheim.

But luck is still required. While riding my bicycle home after volleyball practice I noticed a hint of green in the sky. After grabbing the girl and a camera we proceeded along the bike path to a dark area near our apartment.

The patch of trees on the edge of the cemetery was especially creepy because many Norwegians are superstitious about the nordlys. It is, for example, bad luck to wave at them. And savvy kids remember to stuff rags into any cracks or keyholes that lead to the outside to keep the lights out after you are asleep.

The red color is produced by excited atomic oxygen atoms at high altitudes.

The green color is more common and is produced lower in the atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the lights of Trondheim made taking photos over the city difficult. That's why these photos were taken facing east.

Adding tree limbs to photos is nice because it gives the viewer a sense of reference. Unfortunately, even a mild breeze will cause the limbs to appear blurry during long exposures.

Each photo in this animation required 2 seconds of exposure. The lights are rarely static and can move very fast!

We later learned that a solar event on February 25th had sent a hot mess of plasma right at us.