Sun Activity | Auroras

[Rush]

7 minutes ago, Hiramite said:

I don't know anything about this stuff, so I checked but couldn't find if the Kp or Bz is better than another for predicting auroras.  I suspect they are both "tools" to use.  Does anyone know if one index is more reliable than the other?

(I downloaded the Aurora app a few weeks ago and received notices yesterday.  Didn't even attempt to look with all the clouds here.  It appears that it uses the Kp.) 

This has all the metrics with live updates.  I have no idea what most of it means.

https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/

Also good, https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/

Best I could do of my house last night.

 

[Hiramite]

4 minutes ago, Rush said:

This has all the metrics with live updates.  I have no idea what most of it means.

https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/

Also good, https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/

Best I could do of my house last night.

 

 

Good stuff, thanks for the links.

We were typing at the same time so I don't know if you saw my reply to myself on the last page...

[Iceresistance]

Missed opportunity for me, it was indeed seen in Northern Oklahoma though

[Rush]

Timelapse.  Blown away by how many planes fly over my house!

 

 

[Iceresistance]

3 M-class solar flares in just 80 minutes

[MaineJay]

Might have clear skies and some geomagnetic storming tonight up this way.

 

[Rush]

5 hours ago, MaineJay said:

Might have clear skies and some geomagnetic storming tonight up this way.

 

Moonrise just before midnight.  After that it'll be tough.  

[Iceresistance]

The Sun is unleashing a sequence of Earth-facing Solar Flares and CMEs!

[Mainiac]

I finally had the time to dig through my photos and this is my favorite taken with a Mir-1 37mm f2.8. The real challenge was the moon, and all that light, but thankfully there was a cloud.

 

Edit: Spherical aberration is definitely pronounced with these old Soviet lenses. 

[Mainiac]

Actually got an alert tonight, but it was still quite bright out. Things have tailed off, but the moon is looking pretty cool.

[MaineJay]

X1.1 flare from a sunspot group that just rotated onto the visible disc.

 

 

[MaineJay]

Kp of 5 might be enough for me to see these if everything else can line up.

[Rush]

Apparently there was a kp7 and it was visible all the way into Virginia last night.  I moved to a new phone and forgot to update my app.  So I missed it 

[Iceresistance]

Aurora reported in Northern Illinois!

[Rush]

Once again had upgraded phones and didn't have the app configured.  🤦‍♂️

[Rush]

@MaineJay

Big storm tonight.  Looks like it might be close up in new england

[MaineJay]

19 minutes ago, Rush said:

@MaineJay

Big storm tonight.  Looks like it might be close up in new england

Hoping this forecast is too pessimistic, but I'll get out there if there's a chance.

[Hiramite]

On 9/19/2023 at 1:51 PM, Rush said:

Apparently there was a kp7 and it was visible all the way into Virginia last night.  I moved to a new phone and forgot to update my app.  So I missed it 

What KP level do you set your app to notify you?  (Is the default 7?...I just reduced mine to 5.)

 

 

But so many clouds this week.  It's been awhile and will be awhile until I see clear skies again.

 

[MaineJay]

9 hours ago, Hiramite said:

What KP level do you set your app to notify you?  (Is the default 7?...I just reduced mine to 5.)

 

 

But so many clouds this week.  It's been awhile and will be awhile until I see clear skies again.

 

Under the right conditions, I think some cameras could pick up 5 at you latitude, though I don't know your level of light pollution.

 Do you have a tripod?  What's the latest  (lowest number) f stop your camera goes to?

[Hiramite]

1 hour ago, MaineJay said:

Under the right conditions, I think some cameras could pick up 5 at you latitude, though I don't know your level of light pollution.

 Do you have a tripod?  What's the latest  (lowest number) f stop your camera goes to?

So it sounds like I’m too far south to see a 5?  And how reliable are these forecasts, i.e., can a 5 turn out to be a 6 or 7?

Tripod:  yep 

f 2.8 

Light pollution:  (I can barely see the Milky Way on a clear night.)

SQM  20.65 mag./arc sec2

Brightness  0.593 mcd/m2

Artif. bright.  422 μcd/m2

Ratio. 2.47

Bortle class 4

Edited December 3, 2023 by Hiramite

[Rush]

On 12/3/2023 at 8:15 AM, Hiramite said:

What KP level do you set your app to notify you?  (Is the default 7?...I just reduced mine to 5.)

 

 

But so many clouds this week.  It's been awhile and will be awhile until I see clear skies again.

 

I leave it at 7.  I think it needs to be 8 to be truly naked eye here with the light pollution.  

[MaineJay]

Just so cloudy all the time.

[clm]

On 12/5/2023 at 12:00 PM, MaineJay said:

Just so cloudy all the time.

I know.  Same here.  Every time there is a very strong storm and possible to see it in my area, its cloudy.  

[Iceresistance]

X2.8 Solar Flare just happened

[clm]

1 hour ago, Iceresistance said:

X2.8 Solar Flare just happened

Was just going to post this.

 

STRONGEST FLARE OF THE CURRENT SOLAR CYCLE: Sunspot 3514 erupted on Dec. 14th (1702 UT), producing a strong X2.8-class solar flare. This is the strongest flare of Solar Cycle 25 (so far) and the most powerful eruption the sun has produced since the great storms of Sept. 2017. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:

Radiation from the flare has caused a deep shortwave radio blackout over the Americas: blackout map. Ham radio operators may have noticed loss of signal at all frequencies below 30 MHz for more than 30 minutes after the flare.

It's too soon to know for sure, but this explosion probably launched a fast coronal mass ejection (CME) with an Earth-directed component. The US Air Force is reporting a Type II solar radio burst, which typically comes from the leading edge of a CME. Based on the drift rate of the radio burst, the emerging CME's velocity could exceed 2100 km/s (4.7 million mph).