Weekend Aurora Forecast

[Tim Seaver]

From: Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbank

Forecaster Comments: Three solar events occurred on Jan 18/19, 2012. The first two were small and of short duration. The last one was a coronal mass ejection associated with a long-duration solar flare from the northeast quadrant of the Sun. The location is such that the event is not facing Earth directly, but the intensity, duration and development are such that it will lead to increased auroral activity on this weekend.

;;;

Some predictions are for late on the 21st and early on the 22nd (UT or GMT). Watch the short term forecast with a map of your area for a one hour warning.

Weather permitting, highly active auroral displays will be visible overhead from Inuvik, Yellowknife, Rankin and Igaluit to Juneau, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay and Sept-Iles, and visible low on the horizon from Seattle, Des Moines, Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, and Halifax.

Weather permitting, this could be a nice display tonight!

 

[Tom Rankin]

Refresh this map every so often. If it's red, orange, or yellow where you live, you might be getting a good show!

 

[sardog1]

Thanks! This looks like a night for some sky gazing indeed -- an area of high pressure has been forecast to cover New England this evening.

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Fog

Hoping the skies clear up here on the Rockpile!

KDT

 

[Forester Jake]

Cool, thanks for the heads up!!

 

[Tim Seaver]

CME Fashionably Late Arrival

From Spaceweather:

Arriving a little later than expected, a coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetic field at 0617 UT on Jan. 22nd. According to analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, the impact strongly compressed Earth's magnetic field and briefly exposed satellites in geosynchronous orbit to solar wind plasma. Shifting lines of magnetic force induced strong ground currents in Norway and sparked bright auroras over the upper reaches of North America.

Some great pics at their site!

EDIT: A bit more on the confusion as to the source and arrival time of this "event":

One more goodie: Here is a Google Earth layer of the auroral oval plot that you can use. ( download the file and open in GE).

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Some...

We had some faint aurora last night here on the summit of Mount Washington. I took a lot of shots, not sure what I've got yet. Will post if anything came out well.

KDT

 

[erugs]

WMUR just posted a story on the possibililty for a show tonight:

http://www.wmur.com/weather/30287073/detail.html

Let's hope the skies clear!

 

[peakbagger]

There was a moderate flare today 4/11 amined at earth, so keep en eye out for auroras .

 

[sardog1]

Indeed. From the NOAA Space Weather Alerts

Space Weather Message Code: WATA30
Serial Number: 103
Issue Time: 2013 Apr 11 2115 UTC
WATCH: Geomagnetic Storm Category G2 Predicted
Highest Storm Level Predicted by Day:
Apr 12: None (Below G1) Apr 13: G2 (Moderate) Apr 14: G2 (Moderate)
THIS SUPERSEDES ANY/ALL PRIOR WATCHES IN EFFECT
Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 55 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.
Induced Currents - Power grid fluctuations can occur. High-latitude power systems may experience voltage alarms.
Spacecraft - Satellite orientation irregularities may occur; increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites is possible.
Radio - HF (high frequency) radio propagation can fade at higher latitudes.
Aurora - Aurora may be seen as low as New York to Wisconsin to Washington state.

 

[Gritter]

I have always wanted to see that!

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

A good webpage to check if it's visible in your area. Looks like early predictions might have been a little optimistic. I'm still going to stay up though just in case something changes.

OVATION auroral forecast