Northern Lights squared at Point Iroquois Lighthouse

Iroquois Point Light and the Northern Lights, photo by yooper1949

It’s hard to let the Northern Lights go when they come for a visit as they did earlier this week, so here’s one more shot! You can read all about Point Iroquois Light from Terry Pepper’s Seeing the Light.

The Iroquois tribe made their home far away in New York. Point Iroquois is located at the east end of Lake Superior, where the lake narrows into the St. Mary’s River. If you’re wondering like I was how this point came to bear their name, the brochure for Point Iroquois has the answer:

The area around Sault Ste. Marie (“The Soo”), including Whitefish Bay, has been called the “Heartland” of the Chippewa Indians. This tribe is also called Ojibwa, and sometimes refer to themselves as “Anishinabeg,” which is their word for “original people.” The Iroquois lived about 400 miles away, mostly in what is now western New York. In the 1600’s these nations were at war, at least in part because of European influence and fur trade competition. The Iroquois often sent expeditions far from their homeland and attempted to control the trade routes leading east from the Great Lakes.

Accounts of an important battle at Point Iroquois in 1662 have been passed down for over 300 years. They tell how an Iroquois war party camped near the point where the lighthouse now stands, and how the Chippewa secretly watched their movements and mounted a surprise attack near dawn. The Iroquois were defeated decisively, and apparently never again ventured this far west.

Here’s information on visiting Point Iroquois Lighthouse and you can also see it on Google Maps.

Carl seems to have a knack for shooting the Northern Lights at the lighthouses of Northern Michigan. Check it out background bigtacular and see a ton more in his Lighthouse slideshow.

Much more northern lights and lighthouses on Michigan in Pictures!

April Northern Lights over Michigan

Reflection, photo by Xavist on the colorful way

Quite a number of photographers in our Absolute Michigan pool caught photos of the aurora borealis. More including a great video over on Absolute Michigan.

See Xavist’s photo background bigtacular, catch another that is currently the cover of our Absolute Michigan Facebook or enjoy some great photos from the U.P. in his slideshow.

Much (much) more northern lights information & photos on Michigan in Pictures.

Old Mackinaw Lighthouse under the Northern Lights

Old Mackinaw Lighthouse under the Northern Lights, photo by yooper1949.

The sun has let off a big flare – read all about it and see a cool time-lapse of the October aurora on Northern Lights a strong possibility! at Absolute Michigan.

Carl shot this in October of 2011 – see the photo bigger on black and in Carl’s gorgeous Lighthouses slideshow.

Many more Northern Lights / Aurora Borealis photos on Michigan in Pictures!

Northern Lights of October 24, 2011 in Michigan

Marquette Northern Lights, October 24, 2011, photo by Shawn Malone / Lake Superior Photo

Last night Michigan was treated to an amazing show of Northern Lights as the skies exploded in red, green, white and even blues and yellows of the best display of the Aurora Borealis in years. Our Michigan Northern Lights Log and Flickr group lit up with photos and reports.

There were places you would expect – Marquette, the Keweenaw Peninsula, Escanaba – but also reports from literally EVERYWHERE in Michigan: Bath, Bellaire, Big Rapids, Blanchard, Clare, Charlotte, Charlevoix, Clark Lake, Coldwater Lake, East Leland, Frankfort, Fostoria, Grand Rapids, Jackson, Lapeer, Leland, Leelanau County, Lenawee County, Marquette, Mecosta, Mikado, Mulliken, Ottawa County, Onsted, Pontiac, Petoskey, Reading, Saginaw, Stockbridge, Tecumseh, Traverse City, Unionville, Whitehall & White Lake. People even checked in with reports from Pittsburgh, Indiana & Ohio.

Shawn took these shots last night near Marquette. She writes that she went back to the car to change lenses and the sky just lit up. Check the photo out bigger and see more stunning shots from last night in her jaw dropping northern lights of 10/24/11 set on Facebook! She’s got some with amazing reds. You can also purchase photos at lakesuperiorphoto.com!

Much more on the Northern Lights from Michigan in Pictures!

G1, X Flare … could it be an Aurora Borealis Bingo?

Northern Lights at Little Presque Isle, photo by Lake Superior Photo

This is a little technical, but you can boil it down to say “We might well see some northern lights in the next few days!”

Space Weather says that a category G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm is expected on August 5th due to the effects of a CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) observed early on 02 August 2nd. In plain English, that means we might see the Northern Lights on the 5th! Don’t get too terribly excited though – according to NOAA Space Weather who puts out the email alerts that I subscribe to, G1 is the lowest level of a scale that goes up to 5. Don’t get depressed either though, as they say that during G1 activity, the Aurora Borealis is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine)!

I posted the above on Facebook, and my friend Shawn Malone (who took the photo above) told me that it is also possible for an x flare this week producing an EARTHWARD directed flare that would hit earth probably some time next week which would produce a northern lights display to remember! There was a brief x flare on July 29 – read about it here and see a video from NASA here. The displays in February 2011 were produced by a powerful x flare…

You can see & purchase lots more of Shawn’s photos of northern lights through LakeSuperiorPhoto.com and also check out her cool Northern Lights – square format album!

Michigan in Pictures has LOTS more pictures and information about the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).

March 11, 2011 Northern Lights over Lake Superior

Editor’s note: I had planned a post about Michigan St. Patrick’s Day parades, some of which take place today or tomorrow. Check out  information for St. Paddy’s celebrations in Detroit, Bay City, Clare, Flint,Kalamazoo, Grand Ledge, Saugatuck, Traverse City and Muskegon. Sorry about that, but when the Aurora Borealis calls, I’m picking up the phone!

March 11 Northern Lights over Lake Superior, photo by Shawn Malone

Last week Michigan in Pictures featured an article saying that the prospects for Northern Lights viewing in Michigan were looking great for the next couple of years. Thanks to Pure Michigan’s Facebook, that post became the most popular ever.

Yesterday on Facebook (does it look like I’m spending too much time there??) I saw that photographer Shawn Malone of Lake Superior Photo had captured a fantastic series of northern lights shots over the frozen landscape of Lake Superior near Marquette in the early morning of March 11th. She writes:

Nice to see the northern lights back, I caught the tail end of the strongest part of the display. These were taken along the Lake Superior shore near Marquette MI.

Lights were bright, brightest I’ve seen them in years. Snow did a good job reflecting the light hitting it.

See the whole gallery on Facebook. Shawn and Brian haven’t posted the photos to their site yet, but when they do, they’ll likely be in the Northern Lights section which includes some truly jaw-dropping photos!

If you’re interesting in keeping up with geo-magnetic forecasts, I would recommend NOAA’s Space Weather site, which includes the ability to subscribe for updates (link to “Email Products” at the bottom of the page). Definitely tune into the Northern Lights on Michigan in Pictures, and if you see the aurora, post a comment on the Michigan Northern Lights Log!

Northern Lights: Best Viewing in a Decade for Michigan

aurora borealis #6, photo by ats8110.

In Best northern lights viewing in Michigan on mLive, Kim Schneider writes that:

The Aurora Borealis is entering a new cycle of higher activity, offering the best viewing in 10 years in Michigan, said astronomer Dick Cookman, a retired professor of astronomy, geology and environmental science at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City. Cookman posts monthly night sky updates at enerdynet.com, the website of his Suttons Bay science and nature store, Enerdyne.

The strongest solar flare in four years erupted a couple of weeks ago, Cookman said. If not for the cloud cover that obscured the drama, it would have led to light displays visible as far south as Upper Iowa, South-Central Wisconsin and mid-Michigan. The best part, he noted, is that the 7- to 11-year cycle is just beginning, offering great northern lights viewing possibilities likely to peak in 2012 or 2013.

Read on for viewing tips and some great links. You can see more of the aurora borealis on Michigan in Pictures including what makes the colors of the northern lights, predicting the northern lights and unlocking the mystery of the northern lights. If you do see the aurora borealis, be sure to post it to the Northern Lights Log on Absolute Michigan.

Aaron took these near Clare in November of 2004 and asks if you see the Big Dipper. Check out the Northern Lights gallery on his website or his aurora borealis slideshow.

Viewing the Northern Lights in Michigan

20100804-DSC_6621, photo by xmatic.

Michigan in Pictures has seen over 10,000 people looking for aurora borealis aka the northern lights in the last two days. The cause of this is a major solar ejection that hit our magnetic environment on Tuesday/Wednesday. The good news is that here’s another plasma cloud on the way. The second wave may have hit last night, but it might hit tonight as well (and even if it doesn’t we may still be able to see some activity).

Most people I know downstate haven’t been able to catch them but xmatic up on the Keweenaw Peninsula got a great series of photos over of the aurora over Lake Superior. Check this out bigger and in xmatic’s northern lights slideshow.

Here’s a photo that Shawn Malone took of the aurora over Marquette Harbor in the Detroit News. Shawn has another photo on Michigan in Pictures and many more on her northern lights page.

Michigan in Pictures has lots more information including What makes the colors of the Northern Lights and information about the “rivers from the sun” that cause the northern lights.

Skywatchers should also mark August 12 for the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower!

Michigan Northern Lights – October 16, 2009

Northern lights over Amygdaloid Island Ranger Station, photo by yooper1949.

Last night our Michigan Northern Lights Log on Absolute Michigan lit up like … well … the northern lights I guess with reports from Howell, Perry, Bancroft, Pleasant Lake, Eaton Rapids

They were all over. North, South, East and West. I wasn’t sure at first what they were, because of seeing them in all directions. Never seen anything quite like it.

…and Hartland, where Eddie wrote:

Finally….some verification of what myself and the rest of the family was looking at. I’m in Hartland and saw them everywhere but the northwest direction last night. Then this morning on the way to work, to the north and north east only. Saw single shafts of vertical light streaks mostly with a few areas that were “brush stroked” also, completely vertical. My kids also saw them for the first time.

Our northern lights log is set up to be a resource for notification when the aurora borealis is out. If you’ve never seen the lights, you might want to subscribe to the feed to get notification. I’m really wishing I’d checked my email last night and I’m hoping that I at least get to see some of the photos in the Absolute Michigan pool!

Carl took this photo on Northern lights over Amygdaloid Island Ranger Station on Amygdaloid Island (<– read that link) in Isle Royale National Park on November 6, 2007. You can see it bigger in his Under the Stars slideshow or check out this whole set or his Isle Royale National Park photos.

I didn’t see this one at Carl’s Mackinac Scenics web site (where you can purchase some of his work) but he does have some great shots of Isle Royale under the stars!

There’s lots more Northern Lights / Aurora Borealis photos & information on Michigan in Pictures!

What makes the colors of the Northern Lights?

Electric, photo by Muvv

Matt took this picture (and a few others) on December 15, 2006. Just for fun, I thought I’d link to a slideshow of “aurora” photos taken on December 15th of 2006 on Flickr (there are a lot of them – I even have one in there!)

10 Stunning Images and Legends of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) notes that in Latvian folklore the aurora borealis, especially if red and observed in winter, are fighting souls of dead warriors. The images are indeed stunning.

If you’re not buying that dead Latvian warrior thing, the most excellent Aurora FAQ from the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska has an answer to what makes the different colors of the northern lights (aurora borealis). They explain that the composition and density of the upper atmosphere at the altitude of the aurora are behind it all.

Basically, the aurora excites atoms & molecules (as well as photographers) and as that atom or molecule returns to the ground state, it sends out a photon with a specific energy.

This energy depends on the type of atom and on the level of excitement, and we perceive the energy of a photon as color. The upper atmosphere consists of air just like the air we breathe. At very high altitudes there is atomic oxygen in addition to normal air, which is made up of molecular nitrogen and molecular oxygen. The energetic electrons in aurora are strong enough to occasionally split the molecules of the air into nitrogen and oxygen atoms. The photons that come out of aurora have therefore the signature colors of nitrogen and oxygen molecules and atoms. Oxygen atoms, for example, strongly emit photons in two typical colors: green and red. The red is a brownish red that is at the limit of what the human eye can see, and although the red auroral emission is often very bright, we can barely see it.

Photographic film has a different sensitivity to colors than the eye, therefore you often see more red aurora on photos than with the unaided eye. Since there is more atomic oxygen at high altitudes, the red aurora tends to be on top of the regular green aurora. The colors that we see are a mixture of all the auroral emissions. Just like the white sunlight is a mixture of the colors of the rainbow, the aurora is a mixture of colors. The overall impression is a greenish-whitish glow. Very intense aurora gets a purple edge at the bottom. The purple is a mixture of blue and red emissions from nitrogen molecules.

The green emission from oxygen atoms has a peculiar thing about it: usually an excited atom or molecule returns to the ground state right away, and the emission of a photon is a matter of microseconds or less. The oxygen atom, however, takes its time. Only after about a 3/4 second does the excited atom return to the ground state to emit the green photon. For the red photon it takes almost 2 minutes!

Check the Aurora FAQ for much more information about this wonderful phenomenon and get more posts about the Northern Lights from Michigan in Pictures!