I was fortunate to see a nice aurora this evening, thanks to some unexpected patches of clear sky despite the forecast of 100% cloud. I noticed a diffuse weak arc of aurora to the north at 21:45 UTC, with a brief burst of slightly more active rays at 21:50. My first image of the evening was taken at 22:10 and shows a clear but weak arc of aurora to the north (Image 1). The moonlight really lit up the foreground this evening and some of the first snowfall of the winter is visible on the tops of the mountains. This arc/band of aurora stayed low in the northern sky for most of the time that I was out, and it was sometimes a challenge to see it due to cloud. However, after 22:50 the cloud to the north cleared away much more and it was possible to see some moderate intensity aurora to the north which was green to the eye. This included brief spells of slow movement and vertical rays appearing and then fading out (Images 2 to 4). This activity continued for 10 min and then weakened but spread out to cover more of the sky.
At 23:10 a new band of aurora formed in the north-west, extending high into the sky (Image 5). It was difficult to see the eastward extent of this band due to cloud. From 23:15 there was a period of moderate activity to the north (Image 6), which weakened by 23:25. The aurora was present as weak, diffuse streaks overhead after 23:10, and stayed like that until I went home at 00:12.
Image 1. 22:10 UTC. Taken at: ISO = 1600, f/2.8 @ 14 mm, exposure = 16 sec. Looking north.
Image 2. 22:57 UTC. Taken at: ISO = 1600, f/2.8 @ 14 mm, exposure = 16 sec. Looking north.
Image 3. 23:00 UTC. Taken at: ISO = 1600, f/2.8 @ 14 mm, exposure = 13 sec. Looking north.
Image 4. 23:05 UTC. Taken at: ISO = 1600, f/2.8 @ 14 mm, exposure = 15 sec. Looking north.
Image 5. 23:10 UTC. Taken at: ISO = 1600, f/2.8 @ 14 mm, exposure = 16 sec. Looking north-west.
Image 6. 23:18 UTC. Taken at: ISO = 1600, f/2.8 @ 14 mm, exposure = 6 sec. Looking north.
