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ImTrappedInAComputer t1_jajhisd wrote

I was recently in Norway and saw the northern lights two nights in a row but I definitely don't think it was a strong night. The colors showed up well in cameras doing a long exposure, but it absolutely wasn't bright enough to see colors with your eyes. It just could've been a gray cloud.

How visible were the colors to the eyes?

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416warlok t1_jajo4nw wrote

So I'm just some pleb who has never seen the northern lights... I do think though, that if I were to see them, they would never look as bright and as colourful as basically every photo seems to portray them. I could be wrong, but I'd be very surprised if they looked like this photo with the naked eye.

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TheValxyrie t1_jak5ody wrote

If you're able, take a trip to Northern Norway between October and March, and unless you're very unlucky, you'll be in for a big surprise!

Source: I launch rockets into the northern lights so that scientists can study them.

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DBGames01 t1_jaknxv2 wrote

I soldered the PCBs for UNH’s instrumentation on ACES II. Small world lol

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TheValxyrie t1_jalk348 wrote

I'm the manager for the Telemetry & Radar department at Andøya Space. Small world indeed! ACES II was an amazing launch.

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awesommazing OP t1_jakefu1 wrote

I said the same thing too! Ive been taking photos of them for a while and I thought them dancing and being very vivid is a myth. I also heard from alot of long time northern locals that that sunday night northern lights was just especially strong. The colors were really vivid. It was so strong it was reported to be seen all the way down to Colorado

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awesommazing OP t1_jakdr46 wrote

Ive been taking photos of Northern lights lots of times with my iphone and i understand what you mean. I had to take photos to be able to clearly find them. That night was different. I thought it was a myth how they dance and very vivid, but that night i felt like my phone didnt do justice on how vivid they were.

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awesommazing OP t1_jake5pc wrote

Sorry, to answer your question—-the colors were so visible to the eyes we joked that it reminded us of Windows XP screensaver

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FrankieAK t1_jakzwl5 wrote

I moved to central Alaska last year and I've seen the lights quite a few times and they aren't always as vivid as photos, but that night was SO vivid to the naked eye. They were extremely bright.

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