Real-time Observatory Captures Stunning Recent Auroras

By Nancy Atkinson - April 7, 2011 at 12:33 PM UTC | Observing
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The online observatory

AuroraMAX,

which offers live-streaming views of Canada's northern lights, has seen an uptick in recent aurora activity, and the latest images the team has released are nothing short of stunning. The image above was taken early this morning, April 7, 2011. AuroraMAX is monitoring the intensity and frequency of the Aurora Borealis above their cameras in Canada in the years leading up to Solar Maximum, expected in 2013. In addition to nightly broadcasts of the aurora, AuroraMAX is helping demystify the science behind the phenomenon, as well as providing tips for seeing and photographing auroras.

See below for more recent views.

[caption id="attachment_84685" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="The Aurora Borealis above Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, taken at 00:25 MDT on April 5, 2011. Credit: AuroraMAX"]

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[caption id="attachment_84686" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="The Aurora Borealis above Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, taken at 01:11 MDT on April 4, 2011 Credit: AuroraMAX"]

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[caption id="attachment_84687" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="The Aurora Borealis above Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, taken at 03:10 MDT on March 31, 2011 Credit: AuroraMAX"]

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Click each image to access

AuroraMAX's Twitpic page

, where they frequently post images from their nightly observations.

And check out the

AuroraMAX website

for more information on how you can watch nightly webcasts of aurora activity.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com