1988RedT2
1988RedT2 SuperDork
1/24/12 8:25 p.m.

Anybody seeing the Northern Lights tonight? If so, please advise your latitude. Or at least what state you're in!

cwh
cwh SuperDork
1/24/12 8:42 p.m.

Way too far south for that. Wish I could see them again, though. Might there be any problems from this?

vwcorvette
vwcorvette HalfDork
1/24/12 8:47 p.m.

Nothing here in VT, but I gots cloud cover.

M2Pilot
M2Pilot Reader
1/24/12 8:47 p.m.

Many,many years ago I saw them faintly in central NC. Might be woth a peek from most anywhere.

EastCoastMojo
EastCoastMojo SuperDork
1/24/12 9:37 p.m.

Only thing I saw tonight was a really cool sliver of a moon, and it was reddish.

1988RedT2
1988RedT2 SuperDork
1/25/12 11:27 a.m.

Seems it's pretty much over now. Aurora visible only in arctic latitudes apparently. Some cool pics on this site:

http://spaceweather.com/aurora/gallery_01jan12_page3.htm?PHPSESSID=cqro4gv4vlqaf25ock6av2p7h0

N Sperlo
N Sperlo SuperDork
1/25/12 11:37 a.m.

The Aurora Borealis has little to do with a solar storm. A solar flare would be more likely. If its a storm and were in range, look out.

Solar activity peaks 2011-2012, so at times this year, they could be visible possibly all the way to Texas depending on the gases in the atmosphere.

Gimp
Gimp Dork
1/25/12 12:23 p.m.

Shameless plug/cool images/animations

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=76998

1988RedT2
1988RedT2 SuperDork
1/25/12 2:58 p.m.
N Sperlo wrote: The Aurora Borealis has little to do with a solar storm. A solar flare would be more likely. If its a storm and were in range, look out. Solar activity peaks 2011-2012, so at times this year, they could be visible possibly all the way to Texas depending on the gases in the atmosphere.

Listen you! I believe the people who put this website together know more about this E36 M3 than I do. They might even know more than you, although that is doubtful.

http://spaceweather.com/

STORM RECAP: As expected, a CME hit Earth's magnetic field on Jan. 24th at approximately 1500 UT (10 am EST). The impact produced a G1-class geomagnetic storm and bright auroras around the Arctic Circle.

Even veteran aurora watchers were impressed. "This was one of the best Northern Lights displays that I've ever seen, and I mean ever in over 5000 hours on the ice," says Andy Keen of Inari, Finland. "It was, in short, truly spectacular and something that will live with me for a lifetime." In the Abisko National Park of Sweden, aurora tour guide Chad Blakely contributed a similar report: "Eight tourists and I were treated to one of the most wonderful displays I have ever seen. The auroras began as we were eating dinner and continued into the very early hours of the morning. Words can not describe the excitement we shared."

The storm subsided as it crossed the Atlantic and petered out almost completely by the time it reached North America. Only observers in Scandinavia, Iceland and Greenland witnessed the full display.

N Sperlo
N Sperlo SuperDork
1/25/12 3:17 p.m.
1988RedT2 wrote: Listen you! I believe the people who put this website together know more about this E36 M3 than I do. They might even know more than you, although that is doubtful. http://spaceweather.com/ STORM RECAP: As expected, a CME hit Earth's magnetic field on Jan. 24th at approximately 1500 UT (10 am EST). The impact produced a G1-class geomagnetic storm and bright auroras around the Arctic Circle.

If I'm not mistaken (and that is completely possible) a Solar Storm is different than a Geomagnetic Storm.

EDIT: I believe a Geomagnetic Storm is a direct result of a Solar Flare as a Solar Storm is an event on or around the surface of the Sun that involves Solar Flares.

SUPER NINJA EDIT: Here's a helpful link to NOAA (Yes, I'm bored.)

1988RedT2
1988RedT2 SuperDork
1/25/12 6:21 p.m.

In reply to N Sperlo:

Okay, so are we agreeing that a "solar storm"-- which is perhaps a somewhat imprecise term--can be the cause of bright auroras?

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