More to come…
Arrived at my secret spot early in a vain attempt to get the tail of C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) after sunset, but I think it’s still too close to the sun. The sky was pink before the sun set, and it looked like it was going to be a good night.
By 8:00pm the Kp Index was off the scale, and the interplanetary magnetic field was a whopping -38. The waxing gibbous moon was casting shadows, but it was the brightness of the aurora that made it difficult to see very many stars. The Milky Way was not visible at all. Checking in with friends all over Ontario we were all having success including Nicole Mortillaro who was seeing colour from Toronto, and got pictures with the northern lights over the CN Tower.
The Zenith
By midnight the fog rolled in, so I decided to pack it up, and head home. The temperature was 3°C, and everything was soaked. Most of the way home there were cars pulled over at the side of the road with people taking pictures and enjoying the show.
Stopped for a few more pictures on the way home
Changing light conditions required camera adjustments throughout the night. Then I kicked the tripod, and that was the end of the time lapse. Anyway, you get what you pay for.