Start of the Northern Lights Season

Click on map for better resolution.

Almost three weeks after the summer solstice, we start to get questions regarding when the Northern Lights can be seen again after the Polar Day. The answer depends on where you are: the further south you are, the earlier it will get dark enough.

How dark does it need to be? Our scientific cameras operate when the Sun is at least 10° below the horizon. However, if there are particularly bright Northern Lights, you might be able to see them already earlier.

The map above shows the days on which the Sun will be at least 10° below the horizon in Finland. Be aware, however, that due to summer time (daylight saving time), the darkest time of the night is around 01:00h in Finland.

Note further, that our scientific cameras will not necessarily be back on location on the first day that it is dark enough. Their annual maintenance might well delay the schedule.

Map and text: Thomas Ulich, SGO.

Northern Lights Season has started!

The photo above was captured last night (24th August 2016, at 21:00 UTC (00:00 EEST) by one of the time-lapse cameras we operate jointly with Site-Eye Ltd, UK. The night sky is still too bright at the latitude of Sodankylä to get good contrast, but the season has definitely started. The scientific auroral all-sky camera will return in the near future for real-time monitoring. In the meantime, the time-lapse camera can be used for a look to the north from Sodankylä.

Photo: Site-Eye/SGO, text: Thomas Ulich.

New Time-Lapse Project at SGO

Since February 2016, Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory provides the operational platform and support for a joint long-term time-lapse project in collaboration with Site-Eye Ltd., UK. Two cameras have been installed in Sodankylä, which both take a photo every minute. One of the camera looks at the sky, the other looks at the river Kitinen flowing past the Tähtelä site of SGO.

The cameras will be recording 4K time-lapse footage for the next 12 months, with monthly highlights published on-line. Above's a taste of what's to come, the time-lapse film of the sky in March 2016.

Slow Scan Photography

The so-called Slow Scan Photograph by Brian McClave of Site-Eye, summarises one night of beautiful aurora above Sodankylä. The image was taken over a period of 24 hours, at a rate of one image per minute. The Slow Scan Photograph is then composed by vertical slices of the original 1440 images. In this composite image, time progresses from left to right. The green aurora is clearly visible, mixed with some grey clouds, and there's a fantastic red dawn in the early morning.

Enjoy.

Text: Thomas Ulich; images and film: Site-Eye Ltd.