Auroral Rays

NOTES DATE: Sunday, November 7, 2004 FILM: Fuji Sensia 400 slide film EXPOSURE: ~45 seconds LOCATION: Kalamazoo Township (my backyard) INSTRUMENT: 28 mm lens @ f/4 on camera tripod PROCESSING: Slide scanned with Epson Perfection 3200.  Levels slightly adjusted  with Adobe Photoshop 7.0 COMMENTS: Stargazers across much of North America were treated to an incredible Northern Lights display on Sunday, November 7.  It was one of the more intense shows I've ever seen.  The type of aurora photographed here is categorized as a ray; a thin beam or shaft of bright light that hangs more or less vertically.  A ray is actually a tight curl, or eddy, of light seen from the side.