The Aurora Borealis May Be Visible Tonight In The Northern US (cnn.com) 42
An anonymous reader quotes CNN:A geomagnetic storm could bring a spectacular show to skies across the northern United States on Sunday night. The Aurora Borealis phenomenon -- also known as the Northern Lights -- may be visible "as low as New York to Wisconsin to Washington State," according to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center... NOAA said the best viewing times to catch the light show, clouds permitting, will be between 11 p.m. ET Sunday and 2 a.m. Monday, and again between 2 a.m. ET to 5 a.m.
Funny. (Score:3)
I'm in Iceland, yet won't be able to see it. In part because it's cloudy, but mainly because we don't get a real "night" at this time of the year. You'll have a better view of it in the states than up here by the Arctic Circle ;)
Odds are, this had to be coming (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Saw a nice display a couple of weeks ago (at 52 degrees North). Have to wait until around 0100 for it to get reasonably dark. Of course, it's pouring rain right now. Boreal rain forests can be a trial sometimes.
Re: (Score:2)
And in Arizona right at the moment, it's rainy season.
Byooful (Score:2)
Wul, the aurora borealis is real byooful tonight. If you're awake go see 'em. If you're not...then God bless ya. ::hic::
Not really expecting a good show (Score:1)
As per http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/space-weather-enthusiasts [noaa.gov], the Kp index peaked several hours ago and is on the way down. The official forecast called for higher activity though 06 UTC, and then declining after that. The Kp index was higher several hours ago, so there was a good opportunity to see the Aurora Borealis in eastern Europe and parts of Asia. If we were going to get a good show in North America, it would be happening right now. But that's not happening, and based on the forecast, I dou
The Aurora Borealis? (Score:2)
At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?
May I see it?
Re: (Score:2)
Betteridge?
Re: (Score:2)
Posting to undo bad mod.
Checking view from back yard... (Score:2)
The good news: For once it's not cloudy when some interesting event is happening in the sky.
The bad news: All I can see is the blue-white glow from the new ultra-bright LED lights they installed last year on the nearby highway. (A literally glaring example of Jevons Paradox.)
Re: Checking view from back yard... (Score:1)
thank you for this riveting report of your trailer park next to an interstate
Re: (Score:2)
The laws of physics predict that such events will indeed be visible. The auroras, both northern and southern, are caused by charged particles striking the atmosphere while being guided by the earth's magnetic field. Each such charged particle coming from the sun energizes any atom that it strikes in our atmosphere, causing the electrons in it to be pushed further from the nucleus. As the electrons fall back to their "regular" state, the atom produces a photon of a particular frequency, which can be pred
Re: (Score:2)
I've seen them twice - two different nights, as we drove the Al-Can 30-odd years ago.
The first time, I woke up to this weird multicolored glow shining through the top of our tent in far northern BC. It freaked me out at first, even knowing intellectually what it was... but they were amazing.
A couple nights later we were in the southern Yukon, and there was a more tepid, mostly white display for maybe five minutes.
I keep hoping I'll see them again, but so far I've had no luck (although the Skunk Bay weather
It will be related to global warming somehow (Score:4, Insightful)
Is there a gap in the clock I didn't know about? (Score:2)
"...the best viewing times to catch the light show, clouds permitting, will be between 11 p.m. ET Sunday and 2 a.m. Monday, and again between 2 a.m. ET to 5 a.m."
Otherwise known as 11pm to 5am.
Really? (Score:2)
Northern US, like let's say, Alaska?
No shit, Sherlock
Don't forget the rest of the Northern Hemisphere (Score:5, Insightful)
This isn't a US only phenomenon! Remember, guys, there's a "rest of the world" too!
For the rest of us, this could be visible in:
- Ireland
- Most of the UK (Sorry London!)
- Denmark, and the rest of the Scandinavian countries (darkness permitting)
- The North of Netherlands, Germany, Poland, and Belarus
- Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia
- Across most of Russia as low as Moscow
- Maybe even Northern Kazakhstan
- All of Canada (darkness permitting)
- As well as the North-Eastern half of the USA (From Oregon down to Kentucky, and over to Delaware).
Re: (Score:2)
Finland is part of "rest of the world" too, you insensitive clod! (And a good place to see the Northern Lights, darkness permitting.)
Re: Don't forget the rest of the Northern Hemisphe (Score:2)
Yes, yes I am. I hang my head in shame. I mistakenly mentally included Finland as Scandinavia!! I cannot apologise enough...
Not quite... (Score:4, Informative)
So, it could very well be that Fairbanks could get a very good show one night (assuming it's not mid summer and it's dark enough) while Iceland might not see anything, even though they are both roughly at the same latitude.
Also, the aurora typically aren't as intense right at the poles, but are often most intense at less extreme latitudes around 60 degrees. So it's not unheard of for the aurora to be very impressive in Alberta, while not even being visible in the north part of the Yukon.
No luck (Score:2)
Chatted with a couple guys who were out trying to see the lights as well. Drove on through the woods Found a man and woman at a south looking overlook, standing outside a pickup truck. I slowed down to tell them they were looking the wrong way, but they weren't interested in talking, or her even looking. Drove a littl
AR2665 (Score:2)