Ontario photographer reveals how best to see the night skies
An astrophotographer from southern Ontario captured Thursday night’s display of the Aurora Borealis, and has offered some tips and tricks for catching a glimpse of them yourself tonight.
Trevor Jones, of St. Catharines, Ont., told CTV News Toronto Friday that Ontario’s Thursday night light show can be attributed to the sun.
“When we're seeing the northern lights, it means that the solar wind from the sun is sending these charged solar particles towards Earth and we see them at the poles,” Jones said. “It's called a geomagnetic storm.”
“When the storm is strong enough and far enough south in latitude, you can see them here in Ontario,” he said. “But it’s quite a rare sight.”
Jones, who has been photographing space for more than a decade, caught the lights “dancing overhead” in St. Catharines Thursday night and was among a number of photographers who captured Thursday's recent solar event.
In Bowmanville, Ont., resident Brian Connelly also managed to lens the light show, getting a number of shots between 10:45 p.m. and midnight.
Will the northern lights be visible tonight?
Jones said, while slightly weaker, Aurora Borealis should be visible Friday night in Ontario as well.
“The biggest thing you need is clear skies, so if it's completely cloudy, you'll miss them altogether,” Jones said. “Last night, it was partially cloudy, so it was enough where we could actually still see them.”
He also recommends getting away from the light pollution of the city and allowing your eyes to adjust to the dark for at least 25 minutes for optimal viewing.
Photo by Trevor Jones (https://astrobackyard.com/)
If possible, travelling to a dark-sky preserve, areas where light pollution has been nearly eliminated and residents can enjoy “celestial landscapes,” will give viewers the best shot at a vivid show.
Canada has 13 federally-designated dark-sky preserves, areas where light pollution is kept to a minimum or eliminated completely. Three provincial parks in Ontario have an official dark-sky designation as well. Some of the nearest to Toronto include Binbrook Conservation Area in Niagara, Ont. and Torrance Barrens in Gravenhurst, Ont.
But you don't necessarily need to travel to a designated dark-sky preserve to see the phenomenon. On Thursday night, residents reported seeing the northern lights in downtown Toronto.
Jones also captured what he called his “ first ‘galaxy season' image” of the year on Thursday night in St. Catharines.
“From March to June, [...] there's just so many galaxies available to observe and photograph, so it's a fun time for astrophotographers,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From essential goods to common stocking stuffers, Trudeau offering Canadians temporary tax relief
Canadians will soon receive a temporary tax break on several items, along with a one-time $250 rebate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
She thought her children just had a cough or fever. A mother shares sons' experience with walking pneumonia
A mother shares with CTVNews.ca her family's health scare as medical experts say cases of the disease and other respiratory illnesses have surged, filling up emergency departments nationwide.
Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration.
A one-of-a-kind Royal Canadian Mint coin sells for more than $1.5M
A rare one-of-a-kind pure gold coin from the Royal Canadian Mint has sold for more than $1.5 million. The 99.99 per cent pure gold coin, named 'The Dance Screen (The Scream Too),' weighs a whopping 10 kilograms and surpassed the previous record for a coin offered at an auction in Canada.
Putin says Russia attacked Ukraine with a new missile that he claims the West can't stop
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday that Moscow has tested a new intermediate-range missile in a strike on Ukraine, and he warned that it could use the weapon against countries that have allowed Kyiv to use their missiles to strike Russia.
Here's a list of items that will be GST/HST-free over the holidays
Canadians won't have to pay GST on a selection of items this holiday season, the prime minister vowed on Thursday.
Video shows octopus 'hanging on for dear life' during bomb cyclone off B.C. coast
Humans weren’t the only ones who struggled through the bomb cyclone that formed off the B.C. coast this week, bringing intense winds and choppy seas.
Taylor Swift's motorcade spotted along Toronto's Gardiner Expressway
Taylor Swift is officially back in Toronto for round two. The popstar princess's motorcade was seen driving along the Gardiner Expressway on Thursday afternoon, making its way to the downtown core ahead of night four of ‘The Eras Tour’ at the Rogers Centre.
Service Canada holding back 85K passports amid Canada Post mail strike
Approximately 85,000 new passports are being held back by Service Canada, which stopped mailing them out a week before the nationwide Canada Post strike.