The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG - Based upon news reports from NASA, there is a really good chance that both Wednesday night will offer an opportunity to see the Northern Lights. NASA says there is a large solar storm rated as a C3 Class Event, and that the increased solar winds improves the chances of seeing the Aurora Borealis even further south than they are typically seen.

The chances of seeing them are increased if you are pret­ty high up in altitude, and away from city lights in the Walla Walla area. The top of Minnick Hill outside of Waitsburg is recommended as is the top of Skyrocket north of Prescott.

Local photographer Todd Wagner, whose picture of the spectacular natural phenomenon earlier this year ran in the Times, suggest to those of you who may not have ever shot the Northern Lights, that the best way to get the photo is to shoot at ISO of 640, with the lens opened to f2.8, on a tripod with an exposure time of approximately 30 seconds. Bracket the photos for 20, 25, 30 , 35, and 40 second exposures. Keep your tripod well weighted down (I hang my camera bag underneath it) and use an electronic OR cable release to avoid any camera shake.