The Northern Lights winter 2014 Churchill, Manitoba

Geoff Kinsey

While I was in Churchill this year during the winter of 2014 ( really the main reason I went to Churchill) I was able to view the Northern Lights, the Aurora Borealis. In order to experience this celestial light show you really need to be in a very high latitude and have a beautiful clear night. I saw the most outrageous exhibits of the phenomenon during the weeks I was volunteering at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre in mid-winter (February to mid March) in extremely cold, crisp weather between 10 pm and 2 am.                                   

What causes the Aurora? Some Inuit believed that the spirits of their ancestors could be seen dancing in the flickering aurora. In Norse mythology, the aurora was a fire bridge to the sky built by the gods. Science says that when charged particles from the sun strike atoms in Earth’s atmosphere, they cause electrons in the atoms to move to a higher-energy state. When the electrons drop back to a lower energy state, they release a photon: light. This process creates the beautiful aurora, or northern lights. I say the Aurora is another reason to explore this dynamic and mysterious world in which we live.

The following are a few of the simple photos I took with a compact Sony camera on a tripod with very little expertise. Follow through until the end and you will see fantastic shots from some of my friends who were there with me and really know how to capture the show!

My shots:

  Now some shots from the many wonderful people I met during my stay at CNSC winter 2014. First, Brian Friedman, a coworker and great buddy!

Brian 's fisheye

 Shots from researchers from the Earth watch team. Jamie's are Aurora and picture                             the igloo her team created!

   Matt Hudson:

Kumar, who shared my flask!

Finally, an unbelievable time lapse video made by Alan Dwyer, astronomer, author and, obviously, astounding photographer from the Aurora on my birthday, February 7th, 2014!

          Click and view the time lapse of the Aurora on my birthday, February 7, 2014:
                      (I am in the picture excitedly jumping up and down with a friend.)