Beneath the stars and above the fog -- a surreal view of the aurora dancing over the hills near Half Moon Bay

On October 10 I went to a business meetup organized by the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco. On that day Earth was subjected to strong solar winds, which caused auroras way into the continental USA. After the event I drove along the Skyline Boulevard, a road that follows the ridge of the hills that separate the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. I stopped near Hwy 92, a busy road that leads to Half Moon Bay. The road was engulfed in a sea of fog, the headlines illuminated the clouds. Above was a clear starry night sky, turned red at some places by the aurora.

The red aurora is caused by excited atomic oxygen at high altitudes above 150 miles (240 km). It is only visible under intense solar activity due to the low concentration of oxygen at that very high altitude. The green aurora is also caused by excited oxygen, but at altitudes below 150 miles, which has a higher concentration of oxygen.

I processed a balanced and a realistic HDR photo from two RAW exposures, blended them, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

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-- ƒ/0.95, 50 mm, 3 sec, ISO 1600, Sony A7 II, Canon 50mm f0.95 "Dream Lens", HDR, 2 RAW exposures, _DSC4376_84_hdr1bal1rea1g.jpg
-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2024 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

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Taken in: United States / California / Highlands (show map)

Taken on: October 10, 2024

Tags:

Skyline Blvd

Redwood City

California

USA

San Francisco Bay

San Francisco Bay Area

road

fog

sea of fog

sky

clear

night

night sky

star

aurora

aurora borealis

northern lights

outdoor

Sony

Sony A7

A7 II

A7mii

alpha7mii

ILCE-7M2

full frame

vintage lens

Dream Lens

Canon 50mm f0.95

Canon

2xp

RAW

Photomatix

HDR

quality HDR

Quality HDR Photography

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Groups appears in: • SF Bay Area • Bay Area more » • HDR • California's Bay Area Group • Superfast lenses, f/1.0 and below • Favorites: 150 • California Landscape and Seascape • CALIFORNIA / CALIFORNIE ! • California Photography • Our Sky • Nocturnes - Night Photography • Sky Poetry • California HDR • San Francisco POI • Canon 50mm f/0.95 "Dream Lens" • Canon 50 mm f/0.95 • California Photographer • Night shooters • Canon Rangefinder (RF) Lenses • San Francisco Photo Guild • HDR Creative Shots • San Francisco Bay HDR • California Landscape Photographer • night photography. • Vintage lenses on DSLR(including mirrorless cameras) • Sony A7II, ILCE-7M2 • SONY A7II (ILCE-7M2) • Sony A7 Mark II (A7II) • Canon 50mm f/1.8 f/1.4 f/1.2 f/1.0 • AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER • Pure real and virtual works of art • WONDERS OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN GENERAL.MARAVILLAS DE LA FOTOGRAFIA EN « less

Camera: Sony ILCE-7M2, f/0, 3 sec, 0mm, ISO 1600 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony ILCE-7M2
Lens:	Sony 0mm F0.0
Aperture:	f/0
Exposure Time:	3
Focal Length:	0mm
ISO:	1600
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Manual
Light Source:	Other
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Pixelmator Pro 3.6.10
Show full info

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