Northern Lights

[MacGyver]

We've got way too much light pollution here in Nashville, but those of you further out ought to check out the Aurora Borealis tonight. It's a rare solar storm that will allow them to be visible this far south:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/17/northern_lights_aurora_borealis_across_america_best_chance_to_see_in_a_decade.html

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/g4-severe-geomagnetic-storm-observed

Pretty cool!

[Mike.357]

wow!!

 

I saw them when we lived near Chicago one year.  Was cold as a well diggers as..... errr... butt.  I sat in a parking at a softball complex and stared at the sky for two hours freezing my buns off.  Absolutely incredible.  Green, pink and purple.   Probably the coolest natural phenomenon I have ever seen.

 

I will be searching the northern sky in about an hour to see if I can see them.  Sky is very clear now,  stars look amazing tonight  too.  So it is a no way to lose proposition.

[rugerla1]

I went outside after you posted this, I'd forgotten about it. Didn't see anything, is it supposed to be noticeable all night? I also have probably too many lights in my neighborhood for it to be the perfect spotting position, but the sky is clear so I may check again in a little while. Oh, and thanks for the reminder! 

[tnguy]

I would imagine that they'd be most visible at true local midnight (though I may be logicing wrong) but bear in mind we're in daylight savings so that would be 1amish.

[Mike.357]

a 30 minute heads up from NOAA

 

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/30-minute-aurora-forecast

[enfield]

I've seen them before while camping in the U.P. Not uncommon there. I don't stay up that late any more.

[peejman]

I saw them while flying into Detroit one winter night.  We circled around over Lakes Erie and Huron in a holding pattern to land from the north.  Thankfully the pilot told us to have a look out the right side of the plane as the faint green glow of the borealis was visible on the horizon.  Pretty cool. 

[JWC]

Friend of mine took this pic a while back


Lol. I'm friends with the astronaut from Mt. Juliet, (Barry Wilmore) that just returned from the ISS last week. He was blessed with seeing auroras constantly. When he got there and saw them he posted on a private friends and family group about several things he had done and seen so far. All he put regarding auroras was:
"Auroras- WOW!!!"
I talked to my BIL and he said these may be the most amazing things Barry witnessed. He took many pics and videos of them and it's worth joining Instagram and following @iss, and searching #Astrobutch, just to see them. They're incredible.


Sent

Edited March 18, 2015 by JWC

[MacGyver]

My dad retired a year or so ago, and one of the first things he did when he retired was to fly over to Norway to see the lights.  As I recall, he flew into Trondheim, took a train up to Tromsø, and then got on a ferry and went by boat something like 800 miles north of the Arctic Circle to see the lights.  The pictures they brought back were amazing.

 

He's been looking for an opportunity to go back since.

[seez52]

thats on my bucket list

[enfield]

The farther north of Gaylord MI you get, the better your chances are of seeing the lights.

[No_0ne]

Typically, on the rare occasions that the aurora can be seen this far south, it appears as more of a "tint" in the sky than the brilliant whirls of color you can see farther north.  I can remember maybe a half dozen times I've seen this apparition, someday I want to be far enough north to see the whole show ...