Aurora Above Grundarfjörður

The Northern Lights is the celestial event that most amazed me during my life for its beauty and harmony. That night, in the immediate vicinity of Grundarfjörður, I witnessed this spectacle taking place above the warm and welcoming farmhouse where I was staying. The polar auroras are classified by their intensity with an index called Kp. The Kp index describes the disturbance of the earth’s magnetic field caused by the solar wind. The faster the solar wind blows, the greater the turbulence. The index ranges from 0, corresponding to low activity, to 9, which means that an intense geomagnetic storm is underway. That evening I was lucky enough to witness an activity of intensity between 7 and 8. What is least known about the polar auroras is that in addition to being seen they can be heard! They emit soft sounds similar to hisses produced by the continuous perturbations of the magnetic field caused by the ionized particles. PS: at the top left you can also see Andromeda, a small white wad.

Photo Composite (blended exposures). Nikon D800 + Samyang 14mm. 1 shot for the sky (@f/2.8, ISO-1600, 20 sec.) And 1 shot for the base (@f/2.8, ISO-1000, 6 sec.)