If there's one thing about aurora hunting, it can definitely bring lots of joy and equal measures of pain.
...And that's before you factor in that it can involve being exposed to the elements for elongated periods of time.
Let's use the first few days of our stay in Finnish Lapland, around 45 minutes North East of Rovaniemi, just inside the Arctic circle.
Sunday
We arrrived late on Sunday evening and could see a low band of aurora from our car on the drive to our accommodation at around 9pm. The aurora was forecasted at KP2, so good enough for a reasonable (if not slightly settled) display.
Friends were staying nearby and we were helping each other with messages when we spotted increased levels of activity. There were a few occasions where low-level intensity improved - visible to the naked eye but by no means spectacular, even if the camera loves the aurora more than the human eye does, as the image below shows:
Photo note: 5 second explosure, f2.4, ISO800
The one thing of note was the brightness of the stars - with no light pollution, we were in for a real treat. The best bit was the weather - at around 0 degrees Celsius, we were comfortable. And a whole 30 degrees better than we've experienced before in February!
Monday
Another crystal clear night, although cloud cover forecasts were wrong as they suggested between 50-100% coverage in the days prior.
We had some similarly challenging conditions - KP2 was forecast, but activity seemed quiet. We had a few moments where the aurora improved and could have been easily missed if I'd headed in.
The KP index is only a forecast and therefore isn't reliable - we've seen stunning and active aurora at KP0 and very little activity at KP3, 4 and 5. So in short, it can be a real labour of love!
This was the best shot from a quiet evening - again, nicer on camera than the naked eye could see. That said, I still appreciate seeing the aurora at these low levels of activity as it really helps you to understand how the aurora can build and what to look out for as clues that the lights will intensify. It has also given us a good feel for when activity is gently commencing, enabling the identification of the white/gray hues that are often the forerunner for improved displays.
Wednesday
Now this one was a bit more painful for a couple of reasons:
It was forecasted to be KP4 - potential
substorm territory, with some potential
for a spectacular display given it was another clear night.
We had our whole family together and our children were involved - I love having them
around us and experiencing the wonders of the night sky. Our eighteen month old son was helping us to take photos and seemed quite comfortable (it was only -1 and he was well dressed for the occasion). But he then fell asleep mid-shift!
I was sat out on my own for a few hours as it became colder and colder. There was a summer house nearby , which offered some
comfort and looked spectacular - but the fire and smoke plays havoc with your eyes!
Each time I went to head inside, a burst of jntensity followed. Not super bright but enough to enjoy watching as the intensity slightly improved.
So what happened to the KP4 Forecast? It never materialised, levels ended up being about KP1. I woke up at around 6am to see photos and stories of a solar substorm with some stunning images from Alaska - so the period of intensity was around 5-6 hours late for us.
So not a bad forecast in the end, just at the wrong time!
Thursday
Now this is the painful one. The period of intensity from the night before hung around, with levels at around KP4 at 5pm! Only problem was this - ten days of snow forecasted so 100% cloud cover pretty much everywhere in the northern part of Finland.
However, this was the view from the hot tub:
So tonight is one of those evenings where it's either a write-off and an early night, or a hope
for the best and bank on an unexpected change in the cloud cover. I suspect it'll be the latter for fear of missing out!
And one other twist...
The cloud cover will be a headache for the next few days. So no surprises to see a KP6 geo-magnetic storm forecast for late on Saturday evening - the inevitable good forecast for the last night of our stay...
Fingers crossed...
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