Cloudy skies returned on Tuesday, 8 October 2024. Wednesday afternoon, 9 October, was cloudy with some virga in the area. Mid-afternoon a new wildfire, the Flood Fire, appeared 10 miles to the west. The Fire Department reported lots of downed power poles with wires on the ground. We had a power glitch about the time the fire started. I guess it was a very strong wind gust. After sunset, some flames were visible. These are iPhone photos.

1928 MST: The fire was at 200 acres. These are D850 DSLR photos (1 second, FL 70mm, f/3.5 ISO 800 and f/2.8 ISO 5000).

Thursday, 10 October, 0442 MST: The fire was at 500 acres.

After sunrise, the fire was reported as having burned 3,000 acres. Late afternoon the fire was 3500 acres with no containment. Air tankers were ordered. By sunset, very little flame was visible. Later that night the fire was 4400 acres, 30% containment.

I went outside shortly after sunset on Thursday, 10 October, in an attempt to view Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3). This was not a prime viewing opportunity but I hoped to see some of the comet's tail. Unfortunately, clouds in the western sky did not make for good viewing conditions, and I never saw the comet.

1856 MST: As I was ending my comet search I looked towards the northern sky and was able to see a faint Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) pillar from the strong G4-class geomagnetic storm! I confirmed the observation with this handheld iPhone 15 Pro Max photo (Night Mode, 3 seconds, 1X lens). Even the First Quarter Moon did not hamper the view!

Click or tap on image for larger version

Over the next several hours I could occasionally see the Aurora with my eye, but most times it was too faint. It changed rapidly, as seen in this sequence of photos taken with the iPhone and my D850 DSLR.

Click or tap on images to see larger versions

1900 MST: iPhone 15 Pro Max (1X lens)


1905 MST: D850 DSLR (f/2.8, 5 seconds, ISO 5000, FL 24mm)


1908 MST: iPhone 15 Pro Max (1X lens)


1911 MST: iPhone 15 Pro Max (1X lens)


1913 MST: D850 DSLR (f/2.8, 3 seconds, ISO 5000, FL 24mm)


1917 MST: iPhone 15 Pro Max (1X lens)


2101 MST: iPhone 15 Pro Max (0.5X lens)


2149 MST: iPhone 15 Pro Max (1X lens)


2151 MST: iPhone 15 Pro Max (1X lens)


2156 MST: D850 DSLR (f/2.8, 5 seconds, ISO 5000, FL 24mm)


0104 MST: iPhone 15 Pro Max (1X lens)


0106 MST: iPhone 15 Pro Max (1X lens)


0107 MST: iPhone 15 Pro Max (0.5X lens)

It was an exciting experience to once again see Aurora Borealis from southern Arizona!

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