Aurora feast in Vancouver! I can see it in the last few days

On the evening of October 11th, residents of Metro Vancouver received a surprise. The beautiful northern lights appeared in the sky. Many people say that this is the best gift to receive on Thanksgiving.

Picture from: Twitter

The Canadian Space Agency stated that when charged particles collide with the gas in the upper atmosphere of the earth, aurora will be produced, making the sky extremely colorful and beautiful.

This auroral explosion occurred on October 9, but it did not reach the earth until the evening of October 11. Due to the distance of 1492.9 million kilometers from the sun, the northern lights travel at a speed of 3,110,210 kilometers per hour, which is about 0.29% of the speed of light.

The beautiful northern lights straddle the sky of BC and Alberta . Purple, pink, blue-green and green dance and flicker within the visible range of the naked eye. Even Iowa , Minnesota and Ohio can be seen in the United States.

yesterday Alberta little friends also take beautiful Aurora:

Figure from: Twitter _p did not see

Because there is still a chance! The prediction of the aurora outbreak will last until October 14th, and I will give you some tips on watching the aurora!

1. Choose a place carefully.

The probability of seeing aurora in sunny weather is relatively high, and rainy clouds on cloudy days will block the line of sight. Urban light pollution will also block the aurora, so go to a dark enough place to have a good viewing experience.

Here are a few places where you can see the aurora in Metro Vancouver. Interested friends can try their luck these days:

Burnaby Mountain Park

Address: 100 Centennial Way, Burnaby

Spanish Banks Beach Park

Address: 4801 NW Marine Dr, Vancouver

Cypress Mountain

Address: 6000 Cypress Bowl Rd, West Vancouver

Garry Point Park

Address: 12011 Seventh Ave, Richmond

is dark enough

Locally, the probability of seeing aurora is relatively high. It's windy at night, so remember to bring more clothes when you look at it.

Picture from: Twitter

2. Pay attention to shooting skills

Canadian professional photographer who is good at taking expedition photos, Jeff Bartlett (Jeff Bartlett) proposed to the beginners of photography Points to note when shooting the northern lights:

1. Essential tripod

Bartlett said that there are two basic things to shoot the northern lights, one is a camera, and the other is a tripod. Many people who chase the Northern Lights with their cameras don't even know some of the basic functions of their cameras. So be sure to take some time to read the manual of your camera. As for the tripod, because the northern lights are shot at night, the sky is dim, and the exposure time during shooting is relatively long.Without a tripod to keep the camera stable, the photos taken will look blurry.

2. Adjust ISO

Bartlett said that a common mistake for non-professionals when shooting the northern lights is to choose an exposure time of 20 to 30 seconds, and the northern lights are flowing in the sky, so the camera's shutter setting should be adjusted. In the shortest possible exposure gear, such as 1 second to 8 seconds of exposure time; at the same time adjust the ISO setting to a higher gear, such as 3200 or 6400, as long as the quality of the photo can be guaranteed, the higher the ISO setting is good. A higher ISO and a shorter exposure time can ensure that the northern lights photos taken are clear and beautiful.

Picture from: Ins

3. Focus on the distance

When shooting the Northern Lights, the starry sky background is dim and the depth of field is large. The auto focus function of the camera does not work, you need to focus manually, that is, focus the camera Light source to the distance. Bartlett said that the easiest way to manually focus is to turn on the car lights, then walk a few hundred meters away and focus the camera on the light source of the car headlights, then turn the camera around and aim at the starry sky to be photographed.

4. Be confident

If the aurora borealis forecast shows a Kp value of 3 or 4, the possibility of photographing the aurora borealis is very high. Even if the aurora borealis is sometimes invisible to the naked eye, you must actively invest in the north pole Going in the light shooting. Bartlett said that several of his most satisfying photographs of the northern lights were taken when the northern lights were invisible to the naked eye; because when the camera shutter was set to the 2 to 4 second position, the light entering the camera shutter And the image is much richer than what people can capture with the naked eye.

5. Waterside shooting will have wonderful effects

Bartlett, for example, took pictures of the Northern Lights at Lake Minnewanka, not far from Calgary, Alberta; the North Pole in the starry sky The light, the snow-capped mountains, and the reflection in the lake water make it so beautiful.

Finally, I wish all the friends who want to see the Aurora can achieve their dreams~

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