Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Northern Lights

I can safely say that attempting that wouldn't end well for me! (Or any bystanders... or some of the houses!! 🙂)

K

Yes me too K - he's a very brave nutter and the worlds a better place for him being here they are expecting 150,000 visitors over the Christmas break, the ice skating rink is very popular every year they put it on, it's the space ordinarily occupied by pop concerts or theatre stuff it's a big tent really it's the one nearest the camera.

South Western Lights here.. It's a fantastic place to visit any time of the year, we have been around a dozen times now and it's always changing of course so something new to see and learn.

Fine show of Nacreous Clouds here right now ... not seen them over here before ... even brighter in real life.




K

Yoo hoo Keith, beautiful light all day today here as well and a colourful grand finale.

Indeed Ewan, a splendid day ... nice break after all the continuous rain ... ground's full of water ...and I think I'm developing webbed feet!! 🙂

Have a great Xmas and New Year!

K

Spaceweather.

SOLAR RADIATION STORM IN PROGRESS: An S2-class solar radiation storm is in progress on Feb. 13th. It started yesterday when an explosion on the sun's south-western limb hurled a blizzard of energetic protons toward Earth. Twenty-four hours later, they're still coming. The storm is rich in "hard protons" wiith energies greater than 50 MeV. It is causing a short-wave radio blackout inside the Arctic Circle.

IS A 'CANNIBAL CME' COMING? Since Feb 7th, the sun has hurled multiple CMEs into space. A handful of them might hit Earth this week? A new NOAA forecast model shows at least three solar storm clouds approaching for strikes on Feb 13th.

The closely-spaced arrival of these three CMEs could spark G1 (Minor) to G2-class (Moderate) geomagnetic storms with high-latitude auroras in Northern Europe, Canada, and northern-tier US states from Maine to Washington.

There's a chance (slim but non-zero) that these CMEs will pile up to form a Cannibal CME This happens when one fast-moving CME sweeps up slower-moving CMEs in front of it. Cannibal CMEs typically contain strong shocks and enhanced magnetic fields that do a good job sparking geomagnetic storms. If such a pile-up occurs, the combined strike could cause a G3 (Strong) geomagnetic storm with auroras at mid-latitudes.

Spaceweather.

MARCH IS THE BEST MONTH OF THE YEAR FOR AURORAS: Did you know that March is the best month of the year for auroras? It's true. A 75 year study shows that March has more geomagnetically active days than any other month of the year. (October is a close second.) This is due to the Russell-McPherron effect. In short, cracks tend to form in Earth's magnetosphere during weeks around equinoxes, allowing solar wind to spark Northern Lights.

Spaceweather.

GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G1): Yesterday's "canyon of fire" CME (described below) could graze our planet's magnetic field on March 20th. If so, the timing would be perfect for equinox auroras.

CANYON OF FIRE ERUPTION: A large filament of magnetism stretching across the sun's Southern hemisphere erupted on March 17th, carving a "canyon of fire" in the sun's atmosphere. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) recorded the blast. Debris from the explosion produced a partial halo CME. A NASA model of the storm cloud suggests it could strike Earth's magnetic field on March 20th, sparking high-latitude auroras on the first night of Northern Spring.

Spaceweather.

THE BIG STORM IS OVER: NOAA forecasters say that the storm is really over now. There's no chance of additional G5 activity this week because all the big CMEs have already come and gone. However, relatively minor G1 or G2-class storms are possible on May 13th in response to a glancing blow from an off target CME.

The danger could return on May 15th however. On that date the sunspot will pass through a region of the sun magnetically connected to Earth via the Parker sprial. Subatomic debris (protons and electrons) from explosions on May 15th and 16th could spiral back to Earth and rain down our planet. This is called a "radiation storm;" it can upset satellite electronics and cause polar radio blackouts.

Woke up Monday 12 Aug. 1:00 a.m. to watch the Perseid meteor shower and found beautiful northern lights. These were taken with my iPhone using 10 sec exposures. Lasted about an hour. Totally unexpected.