-- Wayne Cukras
Letha House is home of the CAA Observatory, a dark sky site near Spencer, Ohio. That's the Pleiades just to the right of the center of the picture.
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A rare and beautiful display mimicked aurorae the night of Feb. 18 - 19, 2006. It wasn't the "northern lights" captivating late-night travelers and sky-watchers -- it was "light pillars," (aka "ice pillars") a cold-weather phenomenon of the lower atmosphere. "I was on my way home from work at midnight and thought they were auroras. Pretty cool" wrote photographer Joe Golias. Joe feared he would be arrested as a thief as he stalked the neighborhood at midnight in black cap and gloves with a ladder in hand as an improvised camera stand! He recorded this image and others from Hinckley, Ohio using a Canon 20D, 20-second exposure. The constellation Orion stands just above the rooftop to the left. |
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At a point in its cycle when the Sun should be quiet, it was not. On the night of Nov. 7 - 8, 2004, North America was treated to beautiful and intense aurorae. "Here is a shot taken with a tripod-mounted Nikon F and 28mm lens @ F/2. A 40-sec. exposure on Fuji Supra 800 speed film. {The} aurora started just after sunset to the north and was soon visible in all directions. By 11:30 PM directly overhead, the aurora was pulsating beyond belief. I have never seen anything like it! The display ended around 1:00 AM. Conditions were very windy and cold. Up to 25 mph wind gusts but mostly clear." -- Joe Golias |
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I was very fortunate to be out observing at Letha House on the evening of Oct. 30, 2003 when we were treated to a dazzling display of northern lights." Photo info: Canon D60, tripod mounted, 10-second exposure at 400 ISO. -- Wayne Cukras Letha House is home of the CAA Observatory, a dark sky site near Spencer, Ohio. That's the Pleiades just to the right of the center of the picture. |