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And the good news is that its still active.
However, when an active region faces Earth, a window of opportunity for aurora opens.
While handheld long exposure modes have improved a lot, a tripod is still a handy accessory for many phones
The sun rotates every 27 days, soJune 6is exactly one sun cycle since May 10s display.
Its social media but you have to be so very careful.
There’s a lot of misinformation and cult-like social media accounts surrounding the aurora.
While handheld long exposure modes have improved a lot, a tripod is still a handy accessory for many phones
Rely only on solar physicists and expert aurora hunters who do this as a career and a passion.
If there are clouds, it makes no difference how strong the geomagnetic storm is youll see nothing.
So consult thebest travel and weather apps, such asWindy, for the latest guidance.
Alight pollution mapandGoStargazingare both useful for locating pockets of darkness.
Remember that it doesnt get dark until about midnight at mid-northern latitudes in June.
That will make a difference by narrowing the window of opportunity nightly.
For example, the aurora was spotted before midnight on May 10 in the UK.
Any shot, just to prove you saw it.
That’s completely understandable, but it’s not how to take a memorable image of the aurora.
Its wise to think about the direction of the aurora.
Typically, they appear in an oval around the Arctic or Antarctic circles.
Dark skies arent everything.
Mays displays proved that.
Its also true that post-production can be used to remove the unwanted effects of too much sky glare.
And that can be hard to do.
Gather your equipment
Yes, you canshoot the northern lights using a smartphone.
A handheld smartphone will do in a pinch, and it’s useful for checking that Aurora is present.
But for a good, memorable shot, you still ideally need a tripod.
While handheld long exposure modes have improved a lot, a tripod is still a handy accessory for many phones
That applies to both a smartphone and a manual mirrorless or DSLR camera.
A spare battery or two and a small head torch will also be useful.
Hence, the tripod.
For smartphones, night mode is the best choice.
If it’s possible for you to control the exposure, experiment with a few to 10 seconds.
