Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Beautiful Picture - An Aurora Borealis

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread		 This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (1/22-2007 thru 12/14/2010) Donate to DU
 
Kadie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 06:45 PM
Original message
Beautiful Picture - An Aurora Borealis

An Aurora Borealis spins above the Talkeetna Range and a hay field on Farm Loop Road near Palmer, Alaska, on Friday, Feb. 29, 2008. The center of the circular corona, usually near Earth's north pole sometimes fluctuates further south and can be seen from a lower latitude as in this instance.
(AP Photo/Bob Martinson)

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
reformedrethug Donating Member (288 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 06:47 PM
Response to Original message
1. A few years ago
when that big solar storm hit the planet you could see the Northern Lights down here in the midwest. It was freaking awesome!!!!!!!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
madmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 06:54 PM
Response to Reply #1
3. I remember that we saw them in Ohio, when I was a kid I remember seeing them in
West Virginia, we were on a early morning hunting trip. Amazingly beautiful!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
alfredo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 07:05 PM
Response to Reply #3
6. I saw them in Kentucky. They were a red blob.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Kadie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 10:09 PM
Response to Reply #1
19. Welcome to DU reformedrethug!
:hi:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
BleedingHeartPatriot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 06:49 PM
Response to Original message
2. Thank you, Kadie. A bit of appreciation for the beauty of this world we share is always
a welcome sight. :toast:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Kadie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 10:11 PM
Response to Reply #2
20. It is such a gorgeous sight.
I couldn't imagine seeing something like that in person.

:hi:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
livetohike Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 06:57 PM
Response to Original message
4. That's beautiful!
We used to see them when we lived in MN, but never like that! I have cousins in Saskatchewan and they said the Northern Lights are every color of the rainbow in winter :-).
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
pleah Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 06:59 PM
Response to Original message
5. K&R For something nice for a change. Beautiful.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Booster Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 07:23 PM
Response to Original message
7. If I saw that I'd baptize myself.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Blue_In_AK Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 07:46 PM
Response to Original message
8. Very nice shot...
We're heading up that way next weekend. I hope it's clear because I'm dying to get some aurora shots. This is beautiful.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
lumpy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 08:41 PM
Response to Reply #8
11. When I was a child living in the Alaskan interior one of the
most beautifful memories was the colorful curtains of the aurora borealis to be seen on a very cold winter's night. I could swear we heard crackling in the sky. Beautiful.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Blue_In_AK Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 10:00 PM
Response to Reply #11
18. It DOES crackle.
I've heard that, too.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Kadie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 10:13 PM
Response to Reply #8
21. Please share any photos you get.
We would love to see them.

:hi:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Blue_In_AK Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 10:35 PM
Response to Reply #21
23. Oh, I sure will...
I've got my fingers crossed. The 10-day forecast is for snow in Fairbanks next weekend, but hopefully it's wrong. :) I will definitely post pictures of the world championship ice sculpture competition, though, which is the main reason we're going up there.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
BrightKnight Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 07:58 PM
Response to Original message
9. Was Obama giving his stump speech? Sorry, couldn’t resist. Very beautiful
That is a very beautiful shot. Thanks for posting
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Fly by night Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 08:37 PM
Response to Original message
10. Beautiful picture. Finally got me to get up from the computer and sit on my porch in ...
Edited on Fri Feb-29-08 08:37 PM by Fly by night
... the coolness of the still-approaching spring, here in my deep, dark Tennessee hollow, where I can only see a watermelon-slice of sky.

Thanks, Kadie, you done (me) good.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Kadie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 10:14 PM
Response to Reply #10
22. .
:-)

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
nadinbrzezinski Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 08:42 PM
Response to Original message
12. Thanks, it now graces my desktop
it is a beautiful picture
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Lone_Star_Dem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 08:43 PM
Response to Original message
13. Stunning.
Truly beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
roguevalley Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 09:26 PM
Response to Reply #13
15. one night a friend's dog had died and I felt especially bad so I went
outside and it was really cold. a shimmering white aurora with folds like a curtain was in the sky and tinging the bottom edges was gold. it was a religious experience. I've heard them. They make a sound that is hard to explain.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
mzmolly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 09:34 PM
Response to Reply #15
16. Yes!
They make a sound that is hard to explain.

I forgot about the sound, but indeed they do. Yes, "hard to explain" definitely!

Here is more theory and discussion on the sounds.

http://members.tripod.com/~auroralsounds/

Character of the sounds

There are no tape recordings available so we should try to imagine the sounds from descriptions of eyewitnesses. Here aer some witness reports

- It could compare to the sound of a radio left on a station that has gone off the air
- a faint crackling or light rustle
- A definite hissing sound
- Like balled cigarette pack cellophane crinkled next to ear.
- crackling, rustling sound
- a small animal scampering in grass or leaves
- someone standing a good distance away ... with a LARGE, very flexible sheet of metal ... flexing back and forth ... Low. Slow. wubble/wrang/wubble/wub ... a secret sound
- sizzling, popping, swishing, snapping, whooshing
- low "hissing"
- soft crackles, tiny pops, and almost static electricity like sounds
- Electric silk. Soft, rippling, crackly
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
mzmolly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 09:22 PM
Response to Original message
14. I live in Minnesota, but have only seen the Northern Lights once.
Edited on Fri Feb-29-08 09:28 PM by mzmolly
It was the most amazing sight. We were at a friends house who lived on about an acre in a burb of the Twin Cities. We were sitting around a bonfire and suddenly the sky was illuminated with a show of lights. I'll never forget it.

Thanks for sharing. :hi:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
havocmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-02-08 05:47 PM
Response to Reply #14
34. You can sign up for email alerts about solar flairs that may trigger aurora
Got to http://www.spaceweather.com/. You can give them your email and get alerts about when auroras are likely and other events in the sky.

When I get an alert, I run the NOAA Auroral Activity site on a browser tab, checking it often so I know when to bundle up and hop outside for the views!

The Space Weather site also has galleries where people can upload their photos. Some amazing things in there.

Here's a pic someone in Norway got just last night!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
NikolaC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 09:37 PM
Response to Original message
17. Absolutely Beautiful!
Thank you for this wonderful break from the ugliness that politics can be at times.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
unkachuck Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 10:36 PM
Response to Original message
24. great pic....
....I've seen an Aurora Borealis in the Midwest as a kid growing up but not in Alaska....to see one in Alaska has got to be fantastic....

....god, I love northern Canada and Alaska....if I was in my early twenties and had my health, I'd be packing for Alaska tomorrow....

....that pic has a wonderful surreal quality not unlike the beautiful lunar-esque landscape of Atigun Pass....let's go, I'm ready, if only in my mind....
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
SammyWinstonJack Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-29-08 10:37 PM
Response to Original message
25. Amazing and thank you for this!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ray of light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-01-08 12:00 AM
Response to Original message
26. beautiful picture! thanks for sharing it!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Sugar Smack Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-01-08 01:34 AM
Response to Original message
27. This picture is close to what I saw in Alaska.


I did a google search and found a pretty nice representation. Also, thanks for that. It was a really sweet distraction from the daily news-hash. :)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Tracer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-01-08 07:17 AM
Response to Reply #27
28. Ooh. That photo looks very similar to ...
... the ONLY borealis that I've seen.

A very, very long time ago in Massachusetts, of all places.

It was like that -- a rippling, shimmering, moving curtain of light.

Gorgeous.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Echo In Light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-01-08 07:18 AM
Response to Original message
29. Ommmmmm
O8)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Demagitator Donating Member (236 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-01-08 07:24 AM
Response to Original message
30. The Aurora Borealis
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Agony Donating Member (865 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-02-08 05:24 PM
Response to Original message
31. Nice! (check this one out from Norway!!!)
Edited on Sun Mar-02-08 05:30 PM by Agony
this is a March 1st Aurora Borealis from spaceweather.com (great place if you love natural phenomena)



Maybe we are in a period of strong auroral activity...
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
uppityperson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-02-08 05:31 PM
Response to Original message
32. I lived up north for several yrs, must say I really miss the aurora
Lived in a cabin in interior, noticed neighbor's left their porch light on 'til late every night. 1 morning I looked out to see which neighbor this was and there was no residence there. It was the edge of the aurora every night.

Lived in SE AK for a while, was on a call list for clear nights and aurora. Got to see a great red one there once.

Here in NW WA we saw red through partlycloudy skies 1 night, oh 7 yrs ago or so. Nothing distinct but red.

I miss the aurora, esp from interior AK.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Agony Donating Member (865 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Mar-02-08 05:36 PM
Response to Reply #32
33. exactamente!
AK expat too! The night sky just isn't the same anymore without an aurora from horizon to horizon. Always made trips to the outhouse in the middle of winter more interesting!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Sat May 04th 2024, 01:46 AM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (1/22-2007 thru 12/14/2010) Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators

Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC