Aurora!
An aurora (Nothern Lights) is one of those cosmic events you cannot predict with any real accuracy. At best one can suspect an auroral event will take place as the Earth is hit by streams of particles from the Sun. In Ohio we have "Aurora Season" around October and November like most of the Northern hemisphere. The angles of the orbit just happen to work out best there. That is kind of fun since the lights will sometimes appear during Halloween trick-or-treat night!
Aurora are not normally very bright in the sky and can be hard to see except from a dark sky. For those that live in severely light polluted areas you will not see anything except for the brightest and grandest auroral displays (read that as near apocalyptic in appearance). The best aurora are observed when out at a dark sky site away from all the lights.
Aurora are caused by charged particles hitting the Earth's magnetosphere and appear as clouds of light in the polar regions of the sky. In central Ohio the color is typically green or just a pale ghostly white glow. But every so often the colors are more varied with pinks, reds, and purple looking colors - and it can be rather bright.
An aurora can last just a few minutes or several hours. Solar storms cause an eruption of particles into space and when these explosions are directed towards Earth, there is a good chance an aurora will be visible. You cannot count on an aurora. At best an aurora forcast will let you know that there is an increased probability of an aurora occurring. To learn more about the Sun and recent solar events of importance, please visit http://www.spaceweather.com.
Photographing an aurora
The equipment requirements are a camera, a tripod, and cable release (a time delay will suffice).
Find a dark place with a clear view of the aurora, then point the camera and hold it open for 5 to 30 seconds.
The results can be quite pleasing! Visit our Aurora Gallery.