Tag Archives: northern lights

Magnificent aurora thrills Upper Midwest skywatchers overnight

Posted on by
17

This was “round two” of the aurora borealis last night at 11:30 p.m. Just when the aurora appeared to be quieting down,  multiple, bright rays towered back into the northwestern sky.  Credit: Bob KIng

Boy, we got hit last night. When I first saw the aurora doing its crazy moves in twilight  I knew we were in for something special. The northeastern sky – still dusky blue – lit up with multiple rays and arcs. It only got better as darkness settled in; by 11 o’clock stretchy, squirmy rays and pulsing patches of aurora cloaked the entire northern sky. But it didn’t stop there. Brimming with the sun’s energy, snake-like coils wrapped around the zenith and wriggled into the southern sky.

This photo was taken in twilight in a deep blue sky. Look at all those layers of curtains! Credit: Bob King

The show went on and on and on. Right when you thought nature would call it a wrap, the aurora charged up again and raced to the zenith. Finally around 1 a.m. it settled into a quieter dance of diffuse curtains and rays and continued till dawn.

These rays reached beyond the Big Dipper all the way to the zenith (top of the sky). The display was filled with movement; lots of flaming or pulsing lights made it a joy to watch. Credit: Bob King

I’ve included a few photos from the night for you to enjoy. The pictures were taken about 20 miles north of Duluth, Minn. with a Canon 1D Mark III camera using a wide angle 16-35mm zoom lens, aperture f/2.8, ISO 1600 and exposures from 8-20 seconds.

Some of the best moments I can’t show you because the pulsing patches came and went too fast to register much of an impression in the camera. I also seriously need to invest in a fisheye lens to better show the breadth of sky covered by our eyes – this aurora was simply too big!

The aurora appeared mostly pale green to the eye but the camera picked up subtle colors in time exposures. The green band forms from excited oxygen molecules; blue-purple rays likely from excited nitrogen molecules. Credit: Bob King

I hope some of you caught the alert and had access to clear, dark skies to see the northern lights with your own eyes. Space weather forecasters are calling for more minor storms this evening June 7-8. I’m definitely game for a two-fer, sleep or no.

An interesting rayed arc (top) stands above a thick, featureless arc. Credit: Bob King

Cool, bright green rays join the Big Dipper high in the northwestern sky. Rays and patches brightened, disappeared and re-appeared like someone shining a flashlight around a room. Credit: Bob King

The International Space Station buzzed through the scene just when the aurora was brightest around 11:45 p.m. At left is a trail from flashing airplane lights. Credit: Bob King

Keep watch for the northern lights tonight June 1-2

Posted on by
12

Eric Anderson of Omaha, Nebraska took this gorgeous shot of last night’s display. “Just had an epic aurora borealis photo shoot west of Lyons, Neb. I didn’t increase colors on this at all. 20″ exposure.” Credit: Eric Anderson

Last night’s aurora crept up out of nowhere. Space weather forecasters predicted a very small chance of a minor auroras for mid-latitudes, but a sudden change in the direction of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) set Earth’s magnetic field a-jitter, sparking a nice display of northern lights. The storm’s still raging across Siberia this afternoon with no sign of letting up.

The interplanetary magnetic field, created by a wind of solar plasma entwined with magnetic fields, whirls from the sun in the shape of a gigantic spiral. As waves of varying strength, density and direction pass by Earth, our planet’s magnetic field occasionally hooks up with the sun’s, making auroras likely. Credit: NASA

The IMF is a part of the sun’s magnetic field carried into interplanetary space by the solar wind, a high-speed outflow of subatomic particles, mostly electrons and protons. Scientists call this soup of charged particles a plasma. Because the sun rotates, solar plasma travels away from the sun in grand spirals much like water spraying from one of those rotating lawn sprinklers.

Click to watch a video of the solar wind linking up with Earth’s magnetic field behind the planet, sparking a particle cascade and auroras in our upper atmosphere.

Embedded within the sun’s plasma swirls are portions of its magnetic field. As the IMF sweeps past Earth, it normally glides by, deflected by our protective magnetic field, and no one’s worse for the wear. But when solar magnetic field points south – what’s called a southward Bz – it can hook up with Earth’s northward-pointing magnetic field. Once linked, the IMF dumps its baggage of high-speed particles into our atmosphere to light up the sky with aurora and set satellite operators on edge.

That’s exactly what happened yesterday evening. The Bz turned sharply south and Earth’s private space was invaded by a particle horde. Coronal mass ejections and constant fluctuations in the solar wind can tip the Bz this way and that and set the scene for northern lights.

Last night’s bright aurora photographed from Beecher, Wis. by Brian Larmay. Click to see more aurora pix on his website.

Last night’s storm rated a G2 or moderate on NOAA’s space weather scale. G2s not only produce auroras but can cause fading of radio transmissions at high latitudes, drag on satellites and even trigger voltage alarms on power grid stations.

The aurora often begins as little more than a low, greenish arc in the northern sky. If conditions are right, multiple arcs and rays can form and sometimes fill the entire sky. Photo: Bob King

The aurora will likely continue through this evening, so be on the watch. Check the Kp index and if it’s up to “5″ or higher (in the red zone), chances are decent you’ll see aurora at least from the northern U.S. Another cool tool is the Ovation aurora site that displays a beautiful graphic representation of the complete auroral oval. When you see the oval’s edge creep up to or over the northern U.S. auroras are almost certain to show. Of course you’ll need a clear sky, which is often the trickiest thing to find.

How about mixing your aurora up with a nighttime thunderstorm? Rob Rustvold shot the spectacular dual display along the northern horizon in Fort Dodge, Iowa last night. Credit: Rob Rustvold

I’ll update the blog this evening if and when auroras come back to green-wash the sky.

Auroras happening right now May 31-June 1

Posted on by
9

The aurora borealis is busy tonight painting the northern sky green. Even with clouds in the way, the lights were obvious. This photo taken at 11:40 p.m. May 31. Photo: Bob King

Clouds are thick tonight but not enough to blot out the northern lights. A storm’s in progress right now with a big old green glow covering most of the northern sky. If your skies are clear, head out for a look. This might just be the night you’ve been waiting for. The Kp index, an indicator of magnetic activity around the Earth, has shot up to “5″ indicating a geomagnetic (aurora) storm is in progress.

The auroral oval has expanded toward the northern U.S. this evening and now covers half the sky as seen from Duluth, Minn. Credit: NOAA

The auroral oval, that Cheerio-shaped cap of permanent aurora around the north magnetic pole, now extends all the way down to N. Minnesota, Michigan and North Dakota. The “viewing line” where sky watchers can spot at least some aurora in the sky reaches across Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and West Virginia.

Check out the sky at your place, and if it’s clear, see if you spot the northern lights. This might be the night you’ve been waiting for.

Aurora alert tonight May 17-18, 2013

Posted on by
Reply

This map created with satellite data for 11:30 p.m. CDT May 17 shows the extent of the northern auroral oval, one of two permanent caps of aurora centered on Earth’s north and south geomagnetic poles. Normally the oval is small and snugged up over Hudson Bay. Tonight it’s expanded southward and could produce auroras across the northern border of the U.S. Click to see current oval. Credit: NOAA

If it were clear here in Duluth, I’m sure we’d be seeing northern lights. The Kp index, an indicator of magnetic activity around the Earth, shot up to “5″ or minor storm level around 11 p.m. Central time this evening (Friday). From the satellite plot, it appears the auroral oval extends across southern Canada almost to the U.S. border.

Since the aurora is quite high – around 60-200 miles – it’s visible a fair distance to the south of that line. In other words, northern parts of Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, N. Dakota, Montana and Washington may get treated to the sight of northern lights overnight.

Sunspot region 1748 still has the potential for more solar storms. Since the group’s now becoming more face-on to Earth, additional flares could send CMEs in our direction. Another flare on May 17 sent material expected to arrive on the 19th. Credit: NASA

Be sure to take a look at the northern sky tonight for arcs and rays of aurora. As you might guess, the cause for this show lies with the recent X-class flares sunspot region 1748 has been pounding out over the week. Our planet was expected to get a glancing brush from a coronal mass ejection (CME) overnight from one of the recent blasts. Let us know if you see anything. And get ready for May 19 – Sunday – when another blast could spark an even more auroras.

Heads up – minor auroras out tonight March 28-29

Posted on by
12

An arc of northern lights materialized low in the northern sky shortly before 10 p.m. Central time tonight March 28. Photo: Bob King

Just got back from photographing Comet PANSTARRS and watching the moonrise. Shortly before 10 p.m. a dim auroral arc fanned across the northern sky about 10 degrees above the horizon. There were a few rays, too.

I was a little surprised because tonight’s activity wasn’t in the space weather forecast. I’m guessing it’s spillover from yesterday’s aurora caused by fluctuating speeds in the gust of particles from the sun called the solar wind. As far as I could tell, the aurora never showed here last night. Sky watchers at higher latitudes were more fortunate; a nice display graced skies over Finland, Norway and Alaska even in moonlight.

Photo taken about 10 minutes after the top image. A few rays joined the scene and the arc expanded a little further south and higher into the sky. Photo: Bob King

When the moon rose higher, the sky brightened and the lights faded back. Looking at the auroral oval, it’s expanding toward the northern U.S. as I write this around 11 p.m. Might want to take a look if it’s clear in case things take a turn for the brighter. The forecast calls for generally “quiet” conditions after tonight.

Aurora returns plus a new solar activity forecast

Posted on by
4

Rays of pale red and green aurora stripe the northern sky last night March 1, 2013. The tops of the rays reached about two fists high above the horizon. Photo: Bob King

Life can get frantic. That’s why it felt good deep down to watch the slow dance of the northern lights last night. The space weather dudes forecasted a small chance of their appearance, and indicators like the Kp index held steady at just below minor storm level for much of yesterday.

Patchy aurora in Cepheus and Cassiopeia last night. Pale green was visible with the naked eye, but the dimmer reds didn’t register in color except in the camera. Photo: Bob King

The aurora first appeared as little more than a faint glow near the northern horizon shortly before 10 o’clock. It lolled around pushing up occasional faint rays until moonrise. Unlike some other displays, the leisurely weave of this one slowed down my brain and made for a relaxing view. There’s a 10% chance of more minor auroras for the northern U.S. tonight.

Auroral activity is connected to the sunspot or solar cycle. When the cycle reaches its peak approximately every 11 years, we see gobs of sunspots and solar flares are frequent. Material blasted into space during explosive flares and other solar activity is largely responsible for the “juice” behind the northern lights.

In a recent NASA Science News article, solar physicist Dean Pesnell of the Goddard Space Flight Center explores what’s been happening with Solar Cycle 24, the one currently underway. Sunspot numbers shot up in 2011 and early 2012 and then dropped off later that year through early 2013. Peak cycle is predicted for May this year, so what gives?

All solar maxima aren’t created equal. Some are weak, some more energetic and sometimes we get two peaks instead of one.

The blue curve shows the actual sunspot count; the red is what was predicted. Recent sunspot numbers are falling short of predictions. Credit: Dr. Tony Philips and NOAA/SWPC

“The last two solar maxima, around 1989 and 2001, had not one but two peaks, says Pesnell.  Solar activity went up, dipped, then resumed, performing a mini-cycle that lasted about two years. The same thing could be happening now.

The sun displays only small to medium-sized spot groups (labeled) in this photo taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory at 10 a.m. CST today. Click to see full disk. Credit: NASA

“I am comfortable in saying that another peak will happen in 2013 and possibly last into 2014,” he predicts. Back in 2006 and 2008 a group of solar physicists including Pesnell gathered to forecast the next sunspot cycle maximum. They picked May 2013. In light of flagging solar activity, that now seems unlikely; the new forecast pushes that back to the fall of this year.

There’s one more wrinkle to this story. Pesnell has found similarities between Solar Cycle 14 in the early 20th century, which also had a double-peak, and the current on. If the Cycle 24 plays out in the same way, we might get a peak later this year and another in 2015.

Like the coyote in so many American Indian tales,  nature has stealthy ways that only the watchful eye can untangle.

Space station and (maybe) auroras return to evening sky

Posted on by
Reply

A gorgeous northern lights fills the sky over Faskrudsfjordur, Iceland earlier today Feb. 8, 2013. This image was taken by photographer Jónína Óskarsdóttir. Click the photo to see her eye-watering aurora photo gallery.

Alaskans, Norwegians and Icelanders have something in common this week beside the cold. They’ve all been watching displays of the northern lights which have bloomed over Arctic latitudes night after night since late January. I know they’d be happy to share the sight with us in the lower 48, and maybe they’ll have the chance.

Auroras might reach down into the northern U.S. sometime tonight through Sunday. There is a 35% chance for a major storm in far northern latitudes and a 10% chance for minor storming in the mid-north latitudes where much of the world lives. I interpret that to mean a glowing arc pierced by a few rays low in the northern sky.

While not exactly a big blast, it’s worth keeping an eye out for that greeny glow . Since the sun’s been very quiet lately, a solar flare is not behind the uptick in activity. Rather an enhancement in the solar wind is behind the current forecast.

Photo taken Feb. 1, 2013 from Quyta Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada. Looks like it was ideal time for snow-angel-making under the aurora borealis. Credit and copyright: Yuichi Takasaka – www.blue-moon.ca

Joining the night scene will be the International Space Station. It returns to the evening sky for much of the U.S. and Canada starting tomorrow and continuing the next few weeks. Take note of the fine Valentine’s Day pass. The times below are for the Duluth, Minn. region. For times and directions to look for your town, type your zip code into Spaceweather’s Satellite Flybys page or log in to Heavens Above. You can also get free e-mail alerts via NASA’s Spot the Station.

* Sat. Feb. 9 starting at 7:20 p.m. Brief pass low in the southwestern sky
* Sun. Feb. 10 at  6:30 p.m. Travels across the southern sky below Orion
* Mon. Feb. 11 at 7:15 p.m. Brilliant pass up from the west into the southern sky. Disappears into Earth’s shadow below the planet Jupiter at 7:18 p.m.
* Tues. Feb. 12 at 6:24 p.m. Cuts across bottom of Orion’s Belt about 6:28 p.m.
* Weds. Feb. 13 at 7:10 p.m.  Brilliant pass! Just when the ISS is nearly overhead, it fades away as it enters Earth’s shadow about 7:13 p.m.
* Thurs. Valentine’s Day at 6:19 p.m. Bright pass high in the southern sky. Slides under the planet Jupiter about 6:22 p.m. Time it right, and you can give your sweetheart this celestial surprise gift during your night out on the town.

Pint-sized auroras possible this weekend Jan. 18-20

Posted on by
3

Jarno Pääkkönen of Finland took this photo of a very colorful northern lights display Thursday morning, Jan. 17, 2013 in Kontiolahti, Finland, latitude 62.7 degrees north. Details: Canon 5D Mark III camera, 20-25 seconds at f/4 and ISO 2000. Click photo to see more of his work.

A heads-up for all you aurora watchers out there. The NOAA space weather forecast  calls for a 30 percent chance for minor geomagnetic storms tonight Jan. 18 through the 20th. That means there’s a small possibility for auroras in the northern U.S. and a much better one for Arctic regions.

Thomas Kast, who also hails from Finland, shot this photo the same night near Rokua, Finland. “Northern lights are never boring!” he says. Kast had to walk through deep snow in -16 F temperatures to get the shot he wanted. Click to see more photos on his Facebook page.

The cause behind the next expected wave is another CME or coronal mass ejection. Similar enhancements in the sun’s wind of subatomic particles have been responsible for recent, widely-visible auroras across Finland, Norway, Iceland and Canada. We came close to seeing minor auroras in the northern U.S. last night, but the burst of activity that visited the Scandinavian countries earlier in the day had died down by the time darkness cloaked the U.S.

Give a look up if it’s clear this weekend, and if you see the northern lights, drop us a report by clicking on the Comments link below.

Surprise aurora blows up tonight Nov. 13-14

Posted on by
8

Aurora through moderate cloud cover tonight in Duluth, Minn. around 11 p.m. Photo: Bob King

Woo-hoo! The aurora’s nearly out-competing the clouds tonight. The Kp index, a good indicator of auroral activity, shot up to “6″ or moderate storm level this evening around 9-10 p.m. As of 11 o’clock (CST) the northern sky was thick with a bright, green haze and large, soft rays extending nearly to the zenith. If it’s clear by you, take a look outside and don’t forget to bring a camera.

The auroral oval – the area where auroras are visible – has expanded well into the northern U.S. tonight Nov. 13-14. The map is based on satellite measurements made at 11:03 p.m. CST. Credit: NOAA

The satellite plot shows the northern lights dipping down across the full northern tier of states and fairly deep into Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Interestingly, the NOAA space weather forecast has been predicting only “quiet” conditions the past few days. Apparently our planet’s stuck in the tail end of a high-speed stream of solar particles from a coronal mass ejection.

My photo only hints at what someone with clear skies would see. To see what it really looked liked, check out the photo below. Closer to home, Sarah D’Angelo had clear skies in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and took these pictures from Whitefish Point last night.

A spectacular display of lights crowns the city of Tromso, Norway last night. Even the city’s light pollution couldn’t dim the aurora’s glory. Credit and copyright: Ole Salomonsen

UPDATE 11/14: The aurora raged all night, but the storm now appears to be subsiding. If by chance Earth’s magnetosphere works itself into a lather again tonight, I’ll update with fresh information. Meanwhile, check out more pictures of both the aurora and yesterday’s total eclipse HERE.

Aurora active tonight Oct. 12-13

Posted on by
3

A low bank of green auroral rays flickers beneath the Big Dipper early Friday morning Oct. 12, 2012. A similar aurora is out tonight Oct. 12. Photo: Bob King

Just got in from walking the dog and noticed a bow of aurora low in the northern sky. Northern lights also simmered quietly last night late in the north. Tonight’s NOAA space weather forecast predicts possible auroras for the northern U.S. particularly tomorrow night through Sunday morning Oct. 14. The activity originates from a high-speed stream of particles released by a solar coronal hole. If your sky is clear to the north, give a look before you snug down for the night.