From: Andrew Johnson
Date: 2011-10-16 12:50:29
Attachments : —–Original Message—–From: Kathy Roberts [mailto:weerkhr@pacbell.net]Sent: 16 October 2011 00:48To: undisclosed-recipients:Subject: Out of this world: Northern Lights AND Milky Out of this world: Northern Lights AND Milky Way captured in one photograph By TED THORNHILL Last updated at 12:59 PM on 13th October 2011 Comments (13) Add to My Stories Share This image is simply Aurora-inspiring – as an amateur snapper captures the Northern Lights and the Milky Way in the same frame. The incredible once-in-a-lifetime still – taken in Ifjord, Finnmark, Norway – perfectly captures the out-of-this-world phenomena. In one image, the whole of the frame is filled with our galaxy’s billions of brightly lit stars – with the vibrant green flashes of the Aurora illuminating the sky. Spectacular: Tommy Eliassen has captured the Northern Lights and the Milky Way in one stunning frame Another shows the streaks of green flashes dropping to earth like rain – all while a shimmering lake is illuminated by the colourful display. While another shows a curved bend of green light following the curvature of the Earth and almost appearing to slice through the starry sky. More… Your own personal Sputnik: Launch a satellite, beam signals from orbit for just $300 Sun’s 11-year cycle means we’re in for Arctic freeze this winter, say scientists Waves from space: ‘Ocean-like’ ice in space scan ‘confirms’ that Earth’s oceans might have ridden in on a comet’s tail When stars collide! New study shows how gamma-ray bursts could end life on Earth The spectacular images were taken by Tommy Eliassen on September 25 at the very beginning of the new Aurora season. Heavens above: Conditions had to be perfect for Mr Eliassen to produce this photograph He had to wait days until a one-hour window of clear sky broke out, enabling him to quickly grab his camera and take his pictures at the remote lake location. Tommy, 33, who only began taking pictures in late 1990s, said: ‘It had been cloudy for days but I saw on the weather forecast that I had a one-hour window of clear sky on this particular night. ‘I quickly went and took some pictures in a regular spot of mine, and thought to myself that I had got some good aurora shots and also some separate good Milky Way shots. ‘But just as the clouds started to come in over the mountains I noticed this faint aurora lining up perfectly beside the Milky Way. ‘Normally the lights from the aurora is much, much stronger than the lights from the stars, so getting the right exposure on both is difficult. ‘But it was ideal conditions – almost once-in-a-lifetime. ‘I quickly got seven pictures of the scene before the clouds covered the sky again. Amazing: In this picture the Northern Lights seem to follow the curvature of the Earth ‘I was so focused on getting it right that I didn’t think about it at the time. But afterwards I realised that this was something special and that it might be years before I get an opportunity like it again.’ Tommy, from Mo I Rana, Norway, works in salmon vaccination, which enables him to get around his native nation and view the aurora from various points. The 33-year-old, who specialises in night, landscape and time-lapse photography in his spare time, added: ‘Ifjord is also a perfect location for this kind of photography because only 10 people live there and it is 130km (80 miles) from the nearest town, so light pollution isn’t a problem. ‘On this night I had been out test-shooting my new Nikon D700 camera in the garden. ‘It was two days before the new moon so the conditions were almost perfect for aurora and star photography.’ To capture the stunning shots, Tommy used a Nikon D700 with a 14-24mm f/2.8 lens, with a high ISO of between 4000-8000 and exposures between 25-30 sec. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2048606/Northern-Lights-AND-Milky-Way-captured-ONE-photograph.html#ixzz1awZTfrB6
