Aurora Borealis Viewing

[1eja]

Looking for info on time of year and ship(s) that would offer views of the aurora borealis.  Thanks

[klfrodo]

When it's dark

So, in the Northern hemisphere, sometime in December closer to the winter solstice.

usually very early in the morning like 2 -4 AM

It's also varies depending on solar flare activity

Helps to be up near or above the Arctic Circle

[1eja]

What I'm wondering is do any cruise ships ply the waters in the middle of winter in the Artic?

[hallasm]

Either Northern or Southern Hemisphere - from End of September to beginning of April - October and March has highest solar activity- hence the best months for Northern lights inside the Arctic Circle.

Viking Ocean and Fred Olsen does have Northern Light cruises - another option is Hurtigruten Coastal Voyages along the Norwegian coast.

Quite many options.

Edited January 30, 2020 by hallasm

[hallasm]

7 minutes ago, 1eja said:

What I'm wondering is do any cruise ships ply the waters in the middle of winter in the Artic?

Yes -several cruise lines does offer Northern Light Cruises during winter.

[1eja]

Thank you, I'll check them out.

[hallasm]

17 minutes ago, 1eja said:

Thank you, I'll check them out.

Check also P&O and Cunard - might be others

[Langley Cruisers]

As you probably know, it's never a guarantee; if you see them, it's an incredible bonus. Still on my bucket list. 😊

 

Alaska cruises may provide you some viewing but again, nothing's certain. Last year (September) we were cruising when activity was "high" and we were so excited! Got up at 1 am and went out on deck and so did 100 other people. Sadly, it was not meant to be that time. Just for future and for anyone who is interested, here is an excellent website resource for Alaskan Aurora Borealis forecasting:

 

https://www.gi.alaska.edu/monitors/aurora-forecast

 

[clo]

2 hours ago, klfrodo said:

When it's dark

So, in the Northern hemisphere, sometime in December closer to the winter solstice.

usually very early in the morning like 2 -4 AM

It's also varies depending on solar flare activity

Helps to be up near or above the Arctic Circle

Hurtigruten, a Norwegian based line, guarantees you'll see it/them through March or they'll give you a free cruise the following season. We sailed them in March last year.

[puppycanducruise]

We live in Southern Ontario Canada.  We  have seen the Northern Lights from our area.  You do not need to go to the Arctic to see them.  But you have to be lucky.

[zauberflote]

Hurtigruten, a Norwegian based line, guarantees you'll see it/them through March or they'll give you a free cruise the following season. We sailed them in March last year.

Clo, that is a heart-stopping photo! Was it taken with a plain old smartphone camera, or with the real thing? (My money is on the real thing, but it's nice to dream...)

Puppycandu-- my mom saw them in Vermont around 30-40 years ago. Freak occurrence. I was sooooo jealous!


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[clo]

8 minutes ago, zauberflote said:

 

Clo, that is a heart-stopping photo! Was it taken with a plain old smartphone camera, or with the real thing? (My money is on the real thing, but it's nice to dream...)

Puppycandu-- my mom saw them in Vermont around 30-40 years ago. Freak occurrence. I was sooooo jealous!


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It's an eight year old, size of a pack of cigarettes, point and shoot camera. And it looked better in the photos than in person.

[jocap]

P&O, Fred Olsen, Viking and Hurtigruten. Also next winter, Cruise and Maritime are having two special cruises in Feb and March on the Marco Polo.

[hallasm]

From October 2021 Hurtigruten does offer 15 days Northern Lights Expedition cruises from Dover,

[SteveH2508]

Princess are also doing some from Southampton in Oct 2021.

[zauberflote]

18 hours ago, clo said:

It's an eight year old, size of a pack of cigarettes, point and shoot camera. And it looked better in the photos than in person.

wow. DH has one of those, but he also recently broke down and replaced his overworked, underpaid 6-yr-old smartphone with one that has a phenomenal camera. Someday we will cruise in cold Arctic areas!! 
Wonder why they look better in photos? I've heard that before. 

[pacruise804]

We visited Niagara Falls this summer and the night illumination looked much better through the phone than in person.

[AL3XCruise]

6 hours ago, zauberflote said:

Wonder why they look better in photos? I've heard that before. 

 

In general, cameras have a few features that let them handle low light well.  Digital cameras have variable sensitivity to light (ISO) that enables them to change how the sensor perceives incoming light.  In general, high ISO means you get more detail in low light, but with more image quality issues.  If you look at the images in this this thread on a sufficiently high resolution screen, you will see a grainy, fuzziness to them.  It is most noticeable in the darker areas.  That is the result of using high ISO.  Low ISO would produce a lot less of that fuzz, but wouldn't collect as much light--thus the aurora itself would be less impressive.

 

Depending on the camera, the sensor can also be quite large, meaning more area to collect light.  One weakness of cell phone cameras is the sensors need to be very small.  Manufacturers spend a lot of time and money on the software that processes the image the sensor takes in order to improve the quality as much as possible.

 

There are some other options available to take photos of dim objects, but the don't apply to most point and shoot cameras or cell phones.

[zauberflote]

 
In general, cameras have a few features that let them handle low light well.  Digital cameras have variable sensitivity to light (ISO) that enables them to change how the sensor perceives incoming light.  In general, high ISO means you get more detail in low light, but with more image quality issues.  If you look at the images in this this thread on a sufficiently high resolution screen, you will see a grainy, fuzziness to them.  It is most noticeable in the darker areas.  That is the result of using high ISO.  Low ISO would produce a lot less of that fuzz, but wouldn't collect as much light--thus the aurora itself would be less impressive.
 
Depending on the camera, the sensor can also be quite large, meaning more area to collect light.  One weakness of cell phone cameras is the sensors need to be very small.  Manufacturers spend a lot of time and money on the software that processes the image the sensor takes in order to improve the quality as much as possible.
 
There are some other options available to take photos of dim objects, but the don't apply to most point and shoot cameras or cell phones.

Wow thank you! I have never studied up on the similarities between old film and new digital. For Mr ZF's SLR from the 60's or 70's we'd buy film of different ASA's, and set the (blessedly mechanical!) settings appropriately. It was expensive family photography, eh?
Apparently the three-lens new iPhone camera, and a similar Android one, are excellent for low light photography. He hasn't let me play with it yet [emoji6]


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