Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Once in a lifetime chance for most of us tomorrow?

jbrooks544 · 10-28-2003, 06:54 PM

I know there is another thread about other recent solar storms/activities - but I wanted to make sure that everyone had a chance to ponder today's epic solar event. This could cause northern lights (auroras) to go far into the middle lattitudes tomorrow, the 29th.

If anyone knows more about aurora predictions or what I should do to maximize my viewing opportunities, please PM me. Thanks.

This could be most peoples best chance - possibly in their lifetime - to see good northern lights show. I'm no expert - I'm just spreading what I found.

This solar storm is perhaps the third largest ever recorded and it is aimed right at us.

I was just looking into all of this. Today's storm is one of 3 of the largest measured in all history.

Really good story here:

http://msnbc.com/news/984388.asp?0dm=C11MT

Awesome closeup here:
Go to the bottom of this page
http://rednova.com/news/stories/1/20.../story010.html

Under where it says:
"Movies of the Flare:"

Right-click on:
"EIT closeup of flare"
and "save link target as" to your harddrive.

I set up my media player to repeat forever and I played it full screen. WILD BABY!

anyone know more about aurora forecasts?

Here is a forcast (of sorts) for aurora activity worldwide...

A major solar event occurred at 1102 GMT on Oct 28th, facing the Earth. It was three hours long and left the sun at 1200 to 2000 km per second. The shock should arrive at Earth as early as the afternoon of the 29th in Europe (4 PM GMT)and as late as 2 AM GMT on the 30th.

Europeans will be able to see the aurora probably as far south as Southern France, since it should be over Paris by midnight.

It will be night in Australia and New Zealand if it arrives at 1100 GMT. This flare is probably large enough to approach mainland Australia and be visible from the North Island in New Zealand, so it may be worth staying up to see.

Russia, north of 50 deg latitude will be well placed on the night of the 29/30 to see the aurora from this flare.

Observers in the USA should not be discouraged that it will arrive during the day of the 29th. This flare is of a magnitude that should lead to aurora visible over the entire continental US on the evening of the 29th. It may be on the northern horizon for those in Florida, Texas, and Southern California, but it should be visible.

The best viewing is from a dark area, even your back yard, with a view to the northern horizon. Look out at the sky every half hour. Typically, an intensification occurs every two hours, lasting about 1/2 hour. The maximum activity is usually around 11pm to midnight.

More details on forecast here:
(LEVEL 5 nerd warning!!)
http://www.sec.noaa.gov/today.html

Decent site here too:
http://personal.inet.fi/koti/tom.eklund/aurora.html

10-28-2003, 06:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
jbrooks544 Addict	Once in a lifetime chance for most of us tomorrow? I know there is another thread about other recent solar storms/activities - but I wanted to make sure that everyone had a chance to ponder today's epic solar event. This could cause northern lights (auroras) to go far into the middle lattitudes tomorrow, the 29th. If anyone knows more about aurora predictions or what I should do to maximize my viewing opportunities, please PM me. Thanks. This could be most peoples best chance - possibly in their lifetime - to see good northern lights show. I'm no expert - I'm just spreading what I found. This solar storm is perhaps the third largest ever recorded and it is aimed right at us. I was just looking into all of this. Today's storm is one of 3 of the largest measured in all history. Really good story here: http://msnbc.com/news/984388.asp?0dm=C11MT Awesome closeup here: Go to the bottom of this page http://rednova.com/news/stories/1/20.../story010.html Under where it says: "Movies of the Flare:" Right-click on: "EIT closeup of flare" and "save link target as" to your harddrive. I set up my media player to repeat forever and I played it full screen. WILD BABY! anyone know more about aurora forecasts? Here is a forcast (of sorts) for aurora activity worldwide... A major solar event occurred at 1102 GMT on Oct 28th, facing the Earth. It was three hours long and left the sun at 1200 to 2000 km per second. The shock should arrive at Earth as early as the afternoon of the 29th in Europe (4 PM GMT)and as late as 2 AM GMT on the 30th. Europeans will be able to see the aurora probably as far south as Southern France, since it should be over Paris by midnight. It will be night in Australia and New Zealand if it arrives at 1100 GMT. This flare is probably large enough to approach mainland Australia and be visible from the North Island in New Zealand, so it may be worth staying up to see. Russia, north of 50 deg latitude will be well placed on the night of the 29/30 to see the aurora from this flare. Observers in the USA should not be discouraged that it will arrive during the day of the 29th. This flare is of a magnitude that should lead to aurora visible over the entire continental US on the evening of the 29th. It may be on the northern horizon for those in Florida, Texas, and Southern California, but it should be visible. The best viewing is from a dark area, even your back yard, with a view to the northern horizon. Look out at the sky every half hour. Typically, an intensification occurs every two hours, lasting about 1/2 hour. The maximum activity is usually around 11pm to midnight. More details on forecast here: (LEVEL 5 nerd warning!!) http://www.sec.noaa.gov/today.html Decent site here too: http://personal.inet.fi/koti/tom.eklund/aurora.html