Tag Archives: aurora

An Aurora Is a Bit of a Rarity These Days

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For many years, the majority of maritime patrol operators have been using P-3 aircraft.  However, with the advent of the P-8 Poseidon, the number of P-3s is rapidly reducing.  Canada operates its own version of the family called the CP-140 Aurora.  With their continued operation, that are now becoming a bit of a treat to see.  I had hardly ever seen one in action before so, when they were displaying at the show at Comox, I was really pleased to get a chance to get some photos of one.

As with all military jets these days (or so it seems), grey is the order of the day.  Not the most exciting paint job but a different version of grey is definitely good.  They threw the plane around with plenty of energy in the display so the photo opportunities were good including a pass with the weapons bay open.  The replacement of the Aurora is currently being pursued so they won’t be around for much longer so good to get them now while the opportunity presents itself.  Funny how little I was interested in P-3s when I was younger and now I am hunting them down!

My Attempt At Aurora Shots

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There was a prediction that the Aurora Borealis would be visible well south in the US and, with clear skies in the area, I figured I would definitely go and see if I could get some shots.  I thought my best location would be Mukilteo since I could be on the waterfront with an unobstructed view to the north.  Apparently, I wasn’t the only one to have that thought.  There were tons of vehicles lined up trying to find a space in the parking lot at Mukilteo.

I didn’t even bother to mess with this and turned around.  I figured I would try the park at the other end of the waterfront and found a parking spot as soon as I arrived.  No need to park on the street outside the park.  There were still a lot of people there waiting including a few cameras pointed skywards.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have anything to shoot.  The predicted aurora never got as well developed as far south as us.  I got a few shots including some where I tried to work out whether it was just ambient light on clouds in the distance or some sort of illumination from above but it was a bust.