Coronal Aurora

During an auroral outburst, the richness of colors and the ever-changing forms go far beyond what the naked eye can perceive—and no single camera can fully capture its entirety. These two images were taken almost simultaneously, yet they reveal dramatically different aspects of the aurora.

The left image was shot with a standard camera around 5 a.m., when the sky was already beginning to brighten. In this photo, the brilliant green aurora stands out, while red light is barely visible. However, there is a noticeable presence of blue and purple aurora. The right image, taken with a fisheye lens and an astronomy-modified camera, offers a much wider view of the sky. In addition to the vivid green light, the sky is almost completely filled with red aurora—details that are invisible to the naked eye and conventional cameras.

As for the auroral structures, they can vary greatly depending on focal length and viewing direction. Perhaps this is the true allure of aurora photography: you can never fully capture its true form. It remains elusive, fleeting—and utterly captivating.

left:
Canon EOS R6 + LAOWA 10mm + soft focus lens
right:
Canon EOS 6D (astronomy modified) + SIGMA 8mm fisheye lens

left:
Parameters: ISO 6400, F2.8, 2.1 seconds
Use Startrails to overlay 5 consecutive photos
right:
Parameters: ISO 10000, F3.5, 3.2 seconds
Use Startrails to overlay several dark images
Use FastStone Image Viewer to adjust exposure and saturation