Possible STEVE (strong thermal emission velocity enhancement) event

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Kanadalainen
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Possible STEVE (strong thermal emission velocity enhancement) event

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Post by Kanadalainen »

STEVE 2 noiseX_small.jpg
There is a relatively new branch of research that addresses the origin and physics of weird or unusual aurora that exist away from main aurora.

I may have imaged one of those events eg, STEVE (strong thermal emission velocity enhancement); shown above in the middle of the frame. To the left is the typical northerly aurora, above that is the milky way, rearing up in the eastern sky.

What is STEVE?

From wiki:

STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement) is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that appears as a purple and green light ribbon in the sky, named in late 2016 by aurora watchers from Alberta, Canada. According to analysis of satellite data from the European Space Agency's Swarm mission, STEVE is caused by a 25 km (16 mi) wide ribbon of hot plasma at an altitude of 450 km (280 mi), with a temperature of 3,000 °C (3,270 K; 5,430 °F) and flowing at a speed of 6 km/s (3.7 mi/s) (compared to 10 m/s (33 ft/s) outside the ribbon). The phenomenon is not rare, but had not previously been investigated. In August 2018, researchers determined that the phenomenon's skyglow was not associated with particle precipitation (electrons or ions) and, as a result, could be generated in the ionosphere.

This was taken on July 2, 2022.. the auroral bowl was beginning to boil in the north and I noted this ribbon or band in mid sky. This strange auroral band was imaged with a modified 60D Canon and a very wide Rokinon lens. (13 seconds, f 2.8, ISO 1600).

Why the burnt out and dead trees? A: The area that I was standing in is a pasture of very young regrowth coniferous trees (about 1 m to 2 m high), an area that was subjected to a fire about a decade ago.

STEVE usually appears as a ribbon of light at right angles to the main aurora. I think what is in the centre of the frame is STEVE.

+++++++++++

This kind of aurora is not posted too often (they are not rare, but ...they rarely get captured), so I am putting it up.

Thanks for looking, hope you enjoy it.
Ian

Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
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Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
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BABOafrica Kenya
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Re: Possible STEVE (strong thermal emission velocity enhancement) event

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Post by BABOafrica »

Wow, that's a great capture. And you can see the normal aurora peeking into the image too.

BABO
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Re: Possible STEVE (strong thermal emission velocity enhancement) event

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Post by Kanadalainen »

BABOafrica wrote: Tue Jul 12, 2022 7:32 am Wow, that's a great capture. And you can see the normal aurora peeking into the image too.

BABO
Thanks Babo, I was happy to get this one. I have other shots but need to go through my camera to see how good they are. This image is looking northeast with the aurora to the north.
Ian

Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2

Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.

"Mothers! It is there!" - Rafael Gonzales-Acuna, 2018.
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Makuser United States of America
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Re: Possible STEVE (strong thermal emission velocity enhancement) event

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Post by Makuser »

Hi Ian. Wow, this is one fantastic aurora image, and especially with the STEVE. Thanks for your great picture Ian and also the explanation for what could cause the STEVE effect.
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Re: Possible STEVE (strong thermal emission velocity enhancement) event

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Post by Ylem »

Beautiful capture 👍
Just amazing colours!
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Re: Possible STEVE (strong thermal emission velocity enhancement) event

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Post by Michael131313 »

Thanks very much Ian for the fantastic foto and information on a subject I know little about. Keep it up.
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Re: Possible STEVE (strong thermal emission velocity enhancement) event

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Post by Kanadalainen »

Ylem wrote: Fri Jul 15, 2022 1:52 am Beautiful capture 👍
Just amazing colours!
Michael131313 wrote: Fri Jul 15, 2022 2:48 am Thanks very much Ian for the fantastic foto and information on a subject I know little about. Keep it up.
Makuser wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 10:06 pm Hi Ian. Wow, this is one fantastic aurora image, and especially with the STEVE. Thanks for your great picture Ian and also the explanation for what could cause the STEVE effect.

Thanks all, my pleasure.. perhaps I'll get something this coming weekend if the weather holds.
Ian

Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2

Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.

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Re: Possible STEVE (strong thermal emission velocity enhancement) event

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Post by Thefatkitty »

Not sure how I missed this Ian, but that is phenomenal! Great capture; it's almost surreal. Great spot you found!

hope your weekend works out for you mon ami :D

All the best,
Mark

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Re: Possible STEVE (strong thermal emission velocity enhancement) event

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Post by helicon »

Wow, I missed this as well. Really cool!
-Michael
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Re: Possible STEVE (strong thermal emission velocity enhancement) event

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Post by Kanadalainen »

helicon wrote: Fri Jul 15, 2022 9:21 pm Wow, I missed this as well. Really cool!
Thefatkitty wrote: Fri Jul 15, 2022 8:37 pm Not sure how I missed this Ian, but that is phenomenal! Great capture; it's almost surreal. Great spot you found!

hope your weekend works out for you mon ami :D

All the best,
Thanks lads. Tonight it looked pretty good for a while, but the clouds are rolling in. I was going to try M10 and comet K2... they are very close at the moment. Maybe tomorrow!
Ian

Fracs: Stellarvue 70T f6; SW 120mm Esprit f7; "Mark Mk. II" - 60 mm Tasco f6; C80 frac f 11.4
SCT: C8 Edge f10 or f7 with reducer
Dob: 14.5" homebuilt strut dob (f4.5 ZOC mirror), Nexus II, Moonlite focuser
Mounts - Ioptron Skyguider pro, Astro Physics GTO900
Cameras and lenses - ZWO 2600 mc, 290 mm mini, Canon 60D modded with Rokinon 10mm 2.8; Rokinon 135mm f2

Skysafari 6 Pro, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight - using Mac tablet and ASIair pro to run the AP rig.

"Mothers! It is there!" - Rafael Gonzales-Acuna, 2018.
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