Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

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Viktor

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Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 23.01.2012 · #1

Thought I'd post this as there was a solar flare within the last several days which led to an apparition which was able to be seen in the Shetlands and in Northumberland...unfortunately it wasn't expected to be visible from N.I. ....however for anyone interested it is possible to be alerted by text message and by email when it is likely you will be able to view the Aurora.

The alerts you can receive are for Amber and Red situations only....Red being where the Northern Lights can be seen from anywhere in the UK, so should be the same for the whole of the island of Ireland...Amber is Northern Ireland, Scotland and Northern England.

details here....

http://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 23.01.2012 · #2

Cheeers, always wanted to go and see them!

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 23.01.2012 · #3

There is a big one coming in the next 24 hours

I lifted this off the Spacewatch site a few minutes ago.

This morning, Jan.23rd around 0359 UT, big sunspot 1402 erupted, producing a long-duration M9-class solar flare. Th explosion's M9-ranking puts it on the threshold of being an X-flare, the most powerful kind.

So get your alerts set up everyone and be ready to head for somewhere dark away from light pollution.

On the point of dark places to see the night sky....has anyone got a spot in mind that we could all meet up at if the Aurora kicks off.....might as well have some craic too if possible?

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 23.01.2012 · #4

Aurora Borealis from the County Antrim Coast

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 23.01.2012 · #5

I'm thinking of headin up the Antrim Coast Ally tonight and tomorrow night....anyone any spots in mind where we can get several MHs into....I was thinking of Islandmagee or Torr Head direction perhaps....I'll bet there will be lots of people out tonight.

I suggest Brown's Bay .... http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?…0&t=h&z=16

or perhaps Portmuck http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?…src=0&z=19

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 23.01.2012 · #6

it is to be dark tonight

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 23.01.2012 · #7

Indeed. No I was heading in the direction of the Antrim Coast after 8pm

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 23.01.2012 · #8

Did you go mark? see anything good?

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 24.01.2012 · #9

Yes I went....Unfortunately no. The Aurora Watch site showed no significant activity all night and the weather was overcast with rain anyway...so the flare hasn't yet reached us or perhaps it missed....I'll try again tonight if the forecast is favourable...off to look at more detail about this flare if I can find a good site.

Quick update...the BBC is running a story about a UK wide apparition on Wednesday...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16701407

The geomagnetic storm has been caused by a potent flare that erupted from the Sun at 0400 GMT on Monday.

The effects are likely to be felt on Earth throughout Wednesday.

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 24.01.2012 · #10

Pity

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 24.01.2012 · #11

Previous post updated. BTW...both Browns Bay and PortMuck have no overnight parking signs and Browns Bay have 2.3 m barriers.

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 25.01.2012 · #12

Yep Mortmuck is steep - sign says 16% incline...(nothing like the Rocks Road above the Knock carriageway at Lagan College lol - that is STEEP)....the road was ok but wouldn't like to have met anything so I say don't take a MH near it during busy periods.

I ended up at the Bentra GC Aire, though didn't actually use the machine...spent last night parked up in a hotel car park and had a nice breakfast in it .....weather as you know was totally overcast and unfortunately this latest flare wasn't visible after all in any case anywhere in the UK.

...still plenty of sunspot activity so likely more flares over the next month or so.....however up around Port Ballantrae might still be the best area for viewing if another alert comes in.

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 26.01.2012 · #13

Further to this - if anyone is interested in checking the relevant sites for updated information on solar flares and predicted Aurora displays (called Apparitions), then here are the links:

Space Weather News and Alerts http://www.spaceweather.com/

3 Day Solar Forecast http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/forecast.html

Space Weather Prediction Centre http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/

Aurora Watch (and Alerts) http://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 26.01.2012 · #14

Mark I reckon you are a candidate to join our SETI team

http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/team_display.php?teamid=33287

Software download here - http://boinc.berkeley.edu/download.php

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 26.01.2012 · #15

Ah lol....love to Ally....however a female in the house is addicted to World of Warcraft and is always complaining of lag when I'm online. You know how it is....so daren't tie up the bandwidth with the SETI software at the moment lol.

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 26.01.2012 · #16

Easily sorted, just tick "no activity when computer is in use"

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 26.01.2012 · #17

Ah no lol...didn't explain clearly...she has her own computer....(and thinks it should have priority on the router!)

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 26.01.2012 · #18

You're not winning this debate we need members - LOL

Then set it to - only use internet between certain times

Can also set what speed it can use. The data blocks are tiny anyhow, I never notice it doing it's thing and I play COD

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 26.01.2012 · #19

Lol...ok Ally you win!

UPDATE
On the Spaceweather site:

More auroras could be in the offing. A solar wind stream is heading for Earth, due to arrive on Jan. 28-29. NOAA forecasters estimate a 15% chance of geomagnetic storms at high latitudes.

Another flare has also erupted from the same sunspot that flared on Monday however it was pointed away from the Earth, but there may be some of it reaching us...which is perhaps is the wind stream mentioned.

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 26.01.2012 · #20

Quote by cobra rob

BT infinity then everyone can play

Another of BT's rip off. Fibre from the exchange to the cabinet and two pair copper wire from the cabinet to your house, and they have no plans to upgrade the rest of it.

Also your 30 meg isn't 30 megbyte, it's 30 megabits, clever marketing ploy by all the ISP's

I get 1.5megabits here so I'm a tad biased

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 26.01.2012 · #21

Quote by Viktor

Lol...ok Ally you win!

LOL

I see someone on WC took a plane trip to see the lights and seen nothing, now that would be dissapointing!

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 05.03.2012 · #22

We're into another period of intense activity today....so consider a good possibility of Auroras visible from Northern Ireland in the days ahead...time to prepare the MH for a night out!

From spaceweather.com -

STRONG SOLAR ACTIVITY: Big sunspot AR1429, which emerged over the weekend, is crackling with strong flares. This morning the active region produced an X1-class eruption and a bright coronal mass ejection (CME). The CME appears set to deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field in the days ahead, possibly sparking geomagnetic storms

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 05.03.2012 · #23

The current Aurora footprint is showing that it may be visible from N Scotland and extreme Northern parts of Ireland this evening, although the Aurora Watch is currently showing no significant activity...doesn't mean though that AW won't go to an Amber condition later this evening.

http://helios.swpc.noaa.gov/ovation/Europe.html

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 06.03.2012 · #24

Hi Viktor
I watched the aurora a few years ago for several nights in a row when I was in Alaska. It is an amazing sight, the whole sky was alight with a green and blue dancing pattern. Really worth seeing if you get the right conditions.
Brian

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 07.03.2012 · #25

It's looking promising Brian over the next several days with this current very large active sunspot...(if the weather plays ball!)

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 07.03.2012 · #26

From Spaceweather.com

"Big sunspot AR1429 has unleashed another major flare. This one is the strongest yet, an X5-class eruption on March 7th at 00:28 UT.

This eruption hurled a bright CME into space. First-look data from STEREO-B are not sufficient to determine if the cloud is heading for Earth. Our best guess is "probably, yes, but not directly toward Earth." A glancing blow to our planet's magnetosphere is possible on March 8th or 9th."

More material on the way....now another few big flares when it gets to point towards us and we'll in for a very good chance of Auroras across the whole of the UK into the night hours of the weekend.

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 08.03.2012 · #27

Very likely the Aurora will be visible tonight across a good part of the UK....even the media is now starting to talk about it!

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 08.03.2012 · #28

Read about it today on BBC website, looking good for today.

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 09.03.2012 · #29

Nope...beaten by the weather again

maybe Friday night but looking unlikely at the moment as no flare went off today.

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 09.03.2012 · #30

Yep...we've missed this burst....America and Canada will be treated though....Aurora Watch went RED at 8am this morning

....however there still may be another concentration travelling slower trailing.....and the big sunspot was quiet yesterday, so I'd expect a blast today which would give a display at the weekend for the UK during darkness....fingers crossed for tonight and the weekend!

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 09.03.2012 · #31

Yep...it happened!....another burst today due to arrive on Sunday morning, so if the pattern repeats there'll be a display Sunday evening!

From Spaceweather.com:

Sunspot AR1429 has unleashed another strong solar flare, an M6-class eruption on March 9th at 0358 UT. The blast hurled a coronal mass ejection (movie) almost directly toward Earth. According to analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, the CME will arrive on March 11th at 0649 UT (+/- 7 hr) adding to the geomagnetic unrest already underway.

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 10.03.2012 · #32

Clear Skies are moving into Northern Ireland as I post. The cloud cover is clearing across the the UK too from the NW....it's looking very promising now for clear skies tomorrow evening as there is clear sky out in the Atlantic.....I'd say we're possibly in for a really good chance of seeing the Aurora on Sunday evening as the CME and geo magnetic storm is due to arrive tomorrow!

Make your plans now lol....

UPDATE!!!!

From Spaceweather.com:

WEEKEND SOLAR FLARE: Sunspot AR1429 is still erupting this weekend. On Saturday, March 10th, it produced a powerful M8-class flare that almost crossed the threshold into X-territory. In New Mexico, amateur radio astronomer Thomas Ashcraft recorded a series of shortwave bursts emanating from the blast site.

Also, the explosion propelled yet another CME toward Earth. The cloud is expected to hit our planet's magnetosphere on March 12th around 1800 UT. A CME from an earlier explosion will arrive much sooner however.

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 11.03.2012 · #33

The weather is not playing ball again

....here's what it is doing....it looks like clear sky may only be over the Southern part of the UK & Eire.

from iPhone app WeatherPro

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 15.03.2012 · #34

Aurora Watch is currently on RED alert for UK wide Auroras....lets hope the activity lasts and for clear skies tonight.

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 15.03.2012 · #35

Quote by Viktor

Aurora Watch is currently on RED alert for UK wide Auroras....lets hope the activity lasts and for clear skies tonight.

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Space Station by

· Posted: 19.04.2012 · #36

Nowt to do with Northern Lights strictly speaking but did'nt know where to put this - just seen the space staion goin by about 9.15pm and I think its due to pass by at about 10.50-10.55pm again tonight, if you look south - westish very bright, now thats some way to go sightseeing

, link here if I get this right .. http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/re…rn_Ireland

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 19.04.2012 · #37

Quote by 4wheelin

, link here if I get this right .. http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/re…rn_Ireland

I follow It All the time, to track it's position here.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/tracking/index.html

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 19.04.2012 · #38

another link here; http://iss.astroviewer.net/

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 19.04.2012 · #39

Quote by 4wheelin

another link here; http://iss.astroviewer.net/

Nice link Michael Thanks.

The Space Station Videos of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis).
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos…HD_web.mov
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos…HD_web.mov

More Aurora Borealis videos. here. http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos/CrewEarthObservationsVideos/

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Re: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

· Posted: 24.04.2012 · #40

Giants Causeway Last night...

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