BootsnAll Travel Community

I want to take a pic of the Aurora Borealis. I will be flying from belfast to new york, its a night flight. It will be in 3 weeks.
Will my 35 mm slr do it?
Does film get damaged if i take it on the plane due to the xray machine?
Anyone else got a shot of the Aurora Borealis from 35,000ft?

thanks.

Normal consumer film will not be damaged by the x-ray machines for carry-on luggage. However it WILL be damaged by the more powerful machines used to scan checked luggage. But still, given the option, ask to have your camera and film hand checked at security. It's rare, but multiple exposures to the x-ray scan (once for each flight) can damage your film. More details are available here and here.

Getting a decent shot of the Aurora from an airplane would be very difficult at best. For one, you have to have clear skies and it has to occur while you are flying that night. It doesn't occur constantly. Secondly, the exposure times to capture the aurora are long (20 seconds plus) - that's impossible if hand holding, and even on a tripod bolted to the plane, the airplane will be moving/rolling enough to blur your image.

Here is a great website with lots of useful info about photographing auroras.

I have seen the aurora from the cockpit of my plane while flying to Iceland one night in March. It was one of the most beautiful and amazing sights I've ever seen, a curtain of aqua green light pulsating and shimmering across the sky. I was is such awe I couldn't take my eyes off it, so even if I had had a camera with me, I wouldn't have bothered reaching for it.

So sit on the right side of the plane, have your camera ready in any case, and hope you get to see it.