Pictures on this page were taken in Ecquevilly village, 30 km westwards Paris, on 04/11/01 between 11:30 PM and midnight. The camera used was an EPSON PC3000Z digital camera. Exposure time was 8 seconds for each picture. Camera sensitivity has been set on its maximum value.
Exposure time has been virtually multiplied by à 3 factor after a numeric treatment.
Looking to the dragon constellation at about 11:30 PM. the aurora looks like a red tenuous bulge extending up to 40° above the northern horizon.
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The camera is slightly moving to the left towards the Cepheus constellation. A vertical boundary appears on the right.
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10 minutes later. Looking towards Cassiopeia constellation. The aurora is forming a purple curtain.
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3 minutes later, a plane is
crossing the field of view of the camera. The view axis is the
same as previously. A change in the configuration of rays is
noticeable.
This picture is a sum of two pictures. The first picture was
taken as the plane was flying into the field of view and the
second one, as the plane was flying out of the field of view.
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4 minutes later, the view axis is slightly pointed westwards Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia is above the central bush. The aurora is now spreading horizontally forming a multitude of parallel rays. At the bottom of the picture, a halo results from the public lights of the Mureaux town lying at a distance of 3 km.
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15 minutes later. It is about midnight. The aurora is now smoothly glowing and tends to vanish above the horizon. The phenomenon is over but the splendor is unforgettable.
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Aurora movie (300x231
.GIF format 225K)
This 3 seconds movie represents 6
minutes of aurora evolution. Time scale is not constant.