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Solar and Aurora Activity Chat


shuggee

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Posted
  • Location: Vale of York: 14m above mean sea level
  • Location: Vale of York: 14m above mean sea level

Sky is 80% clear now (North of York), so if they arrive at some point in the next few hours maybe there is a chance of seeming them. Cam at the ready pointing out the sky light!

Edited by WS Evolution
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Posted
  • Location: Pinxton, Derbyshire (115M ASL)
  • Location: Pinxton, Derbyshire (115M ASL)

Spaceweather map is not showing much red like last night so i think its a No No tonight

Chris

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Posted
  • Location: Redhill, Surrey
  • Location: Redhill, Surrey

Now I know that was no hope in hell of me seeing it so far south, but there is something on the horizon that looks odd and greenish, phoned a friend who had a better view up on the hill, and he said he could see something greenish too! is it likely to be it or just us hoping a tad too much?

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Posted
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.

2001 was the first year I looked on the internet for the aurora on spaceweather.

Not expecting anything tonight as last night didn`t show nothing,but as said previous tuesday may of seen something away from towns,in the country away from those dreaded town lights.

Surprised it`s still clear actually but cloud is looming.

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Posted
  • Location: Sth Staffs/Shrops 105m/345' & NW Snowdonia 219m/719'
  • Location: Sth Staffs/Shrops 105m/345' & NW Snowdonia 219m/719'

Now I know that was no hope in hell of me seeing it so far south, but there is something on the horizon that looks odd and greenish, phoned a friend who had a better view up on the hill, and he said he could see something greenish too! is it likely to be it or just us hoping a tad too much?

Highly unlikely. Indicators are showing nothing to warrant any activity at all this far South.

I think we'll all have to wait for the next big solar flare and CME ...which could be next week, month or next year!

I've stayed up too many nights in the past when chances were high and tonight isn't one of them.

Posted ImagePosted Image

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Posted
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.

Thanks for that Kar999,there`s nothing going to show tonight looking at that

In march/april 2001 it came further over Scotland on that image.

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Posted
  • Location: Sth Staffs/Shrops 105m/345' & NW Snowdonia 219m/719'
  • Location: Sth Staffs/Shrops 105m/345' & NW Snowdonia 219m/719'

Thanks for that Kar999,there`s nothing going to show tonight looking at that

In march/april 2001 it came further over Scotland on that image.

That image was well down over Scotland on Tuesday night.... but so was the cloud cover.

Louby... a greenish glow low on the northern horizon is a classic example of the Aurora but it's not something we should be seeing tonight.

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Posted
  • Location: Stanley, County Durham.
  • Weather Preferences: Anything Extreme!
  • Location: Stanley, County Durham.

Just been out in the garden for about 10 mins.

Not sure if I'm imagining it but there seems to be a very slight green colour to the N/NE.

The stars are amazing though, the longer I looked more appeared.

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Posted
  • Location: Boston, Lincolnshire, UK
  • Location: Boston, Lincolnshire, UK

Louby... a greenish glow low on the northern horizon is a classic example of the Aurora but it's not something we should be seeing tonight.

Not a bluish glow like I saw? Rats.... ** EPIC GEOGRAPHY FAIL **
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Posted
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Location: Edinburgh

Saw nothing either of the past two nights. Once I saw the indices, like kar999 posted, I decided it wasn't even worth a more concerted effort last night. For me in Edinburgh, I reckon you need a Planetary K index of 6 or more to see it, and for the disturbance to be reasonably energetic.

I took this photo on 21st January 2005 - the auroral arc was quite high in the sky, but getting progressively more indistinct as the main disturbance had passed earlier in the evening (and I hadn't seen it :help:). Planetary K index for 9pm-12midnight that night was 6, but had been 8 for the 6 hours before that (probably enough to put aurora just about overhead in Edinburgh).

http://www.swpc.noaa...ld_indices.html

Also given the sightings from Denmark etc three nights ago (comparable magnetic latitude, but cloudy here), I think we would have seen a similar view with the arc low over the N horizon - planetary K index peaked at 6.

I've no other images from Edinburgh showing reasonably quiet aurora that I can check against past index levels to see what level produces a display this far south. The great Oct/Nov 2003 displays were with very high planetary K indices, and aurora to near the southern horizon!

Something I do if I think there's activity, and I'm not sure if the glow ia aurora, is take a photo of the northern sky with a digital camera capable of a long exposure (5-15 secs, enough to bring out the stars). Most aurora is a very particular colour of green - if you see that green in the photo, then it's definitely aurora - yellow-orange is probably streetlight glow, blue probably twilight, whitish probably cloud. Your eyes don't see colours well in the dark, so this is a way of removing a little doubt if you're standing around in the cold! :wallbash:

sss

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Posted
  • Location: Sth Staffs/Shrops 105m/345' & NW Snowdonia 219m/719'
  • Location: Sth Staffs/Shrops 105m/345' & NW Snowdonia 219m/719'

Great post (& Pic) thanks. :mellow:

This map shows the indications of KP index and possible visibility but other factors like BZ and solar wind speed influence... anyway it's a good rough guide.

Posted Image

Clickable image here: KP index map

I've also read before that long exposure shots will often show weak aurora where none is perceptible to the naked eye.

Edited by kar999
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Posted
  • Location: Sth Staffs/Shrops 105m/345' & NW Snowdonia 219m/719'
  • Location: Sth Staffs/Shrops 105m/345' & NW Snowdonia 219m/719'

It's been repeated numerous times before, but for those that haven't seen it, this programme is well worth watching.....

Next Thursday 12th August 22:00 BBC HD

Joanna Lumley in the Land of the Northern Lights

Stunning quality in High Definition.

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Posted
  • Location: Kingdom of Fife: 56.2º N, 3.2º W
  • Location: Kingdom of Fife: 56.2º N, 3.2º W

Thanks Mondy! Hopefully things are warming for Autumn as the darker nights draw in. All we need is some clear skies and few decent X rated flares :)

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Posted
  • Location: Sheffield South Yorkshire 160M Powering the Sheffield Shield
  • Weather Preferences: Any Extreme
  • Location: Sheffield South Yorkshire 160M Powering the Sheffield Shield

It's been repeated numerous times before, but for those that haven't seen it, this programme is well worth watching.....

Next Thursday 12th August 22:00 BBC HD

Joanna Lumley in the Land of the Northern Lights

Stunning quality in High Definition.

You mean Joanne of course??????????????

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[quote name=

Something I do if I think there's activity, and I'm not sure if the glow ia aurora, is take a photo of the northern sky with a digital camera capable of a long exposure (5-15 secs, enough to bring out the stars). Most aurora is a very particular colour of green - if you see that green in the photo, then it's definitely aurora - yellow-orange is probably streetlight glow, blue probably twilight, whitish probably cloud. Your eyes don't see colours well in the dark, so this is a way of removing a little doubt if you're standing around in the cold! :)

sss

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Posted
  • Location: Wexford, Ireland. 80 metres asl
  • Location: Wexford, Ireland. 80 metres asl

M1.0 solar flare this evening. Earth directed. Bring on clear skies!

How does this one compare to last weeks flare , better chance to see the aurora than last week?

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Posted
  • Location: Sth Staffs/Shrops 105m/345' & NW Snowdonia 219m/719'
  • Location: Sth Staffs/Shrops 105m/345' & NW Snowdonia 219m/719'

How does this one compare to last weeks flare , better chance to see the aurora than last week?

There's not a simple answer to that... last weeks flare was a weaker C3-class solar flare but at the same time, an enormous magnetic filament stretching across the sun's northern hemisphere erupted.

According to spacewaether at the time...

"The timing of these events suggest they are connected, ..... a shadowy shock wave (a "solar tsunami") can be seen emerging from the flare site and rippling across the northern hemisphere into the filament's eruption zone. That may have helped propel the filament into space.

In short, we have just witnessed a complex global eruption involving almost the entire Earth-facing side of the sun.

A coronal mass ejection (CME) produced by the event is heading directly for Earth."

Time will tell in a couple of days but it usually takes a strong m-class or X=class flare for mid-latitudes to be in with a shout.

Edited by kar999
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Posted
  • Location: Sth Staffs/Shrops 105m/345' & NW Snowdonia 219m/719'
  • Location: Sth Staffs/Shrops 105m/345' & NW Snowdonia 219m/719'

Better luck next time!

"SOLAR BLAST JUST MISSES EARTH: On August 7th (1825 UT), magnetic fields around sunspot 1093 became unstable and erupted, producing a strong M1-class solar flare. The eruption hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space, just missing a direct sun-Earth line. Forecasters expect the cloud to deliver no more than a glancing blow to our planet's magnetic field when it billows by on August 9th or 10th--not be a major space weather event.

Future eruptions could turn out differently. Active region 1093 is rotating toward Earth. By the end of this weekend, we'll be in the line of fire if its magnetic fields become unstable again."

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