Aurora (Northern Lights) alert for tonight

I just got word from the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center that Saturday’s solar activity blew a wave of subatomic particles from the Sun that is reaching the Earth now. They rated this as a strong G3 event, which means it’s not dangerous per se but should spark aurorae at high latitudes.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/09/26/aurora-alert-for-tonight

How much I would love to see them, and to get some glorious pictures!

That is stunning!

son in Jersey to look for it.

About 10 years ago we were camping at Aqua Caliente (near San Diego). About 10 pm the sky started to glow red, with tones of green and blue and orange. I had no idea what it was, until my husband and kids came spilling out of the tent and told me it was the Aurora Borealis.

Soooooo - I'll be looking at the skies again - of course the desert (away from the city lights) would be the best place to see it.

I didn't think I stood any chance of seeing them here, in LA.

The city lights would probably be much too bright for any viewing...

Lucky you!

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wingkp/24_hour.html

Predicted Geomagnetic Activity Index
using Wing Kp Model -- 24-hour Plot



Wing Kp Predicted Activity Index -- The current 1-hour and 4-hour Kp predictions are shown to the right of the white dashed line, which marks the current time. Recent predictions, with the observed Estimated Kp, are to the left of the white line. SWPC receives the latest predicted planetary geomagnetic activity index ( Kp) from the U.S. Air Force Weather Agency Wing Kp model. User Guide

The dashed red line indicates the lowest alert level, G1 (minor), on the NOAA Space Weather Scale.

The bottom Lead Time panel shows an estimate of the actual lead time which depends on solar wind speed.
The lead time is the time for the solar wind to propagate from the ACE satellite, at L1, to the Earth.

Missing Kp values, Lead Time values, or model output indicates the data is not available at SWPC.

Looks like it's supposed to peak right around bedtime on the east coast.

What a stunning picture!

It would be interesting to know if the aurora in turn sparks an increase in UFO reports in those areas. I see on the map that my state, Nebraska, is in the fringe zone for seeing the aurora. I’m going to grab my binoculars tonight and see if I can spot any glowing/flashing plasma balls so that maybe I can report my first flying saucer.

I never get a chance to see an aurora, it seems...:cry:

http://www.spaceweather.com/

It's also got a great gallery of aurora photos -- just scroll about halfway down the page for the link.

I also keep an eye on the aurora oval at the NOAA POES satellite website:



http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/pmap