Aurora Prospects 2014

AdrianII · 28-02-2014 2:50pm

what kind of lense's , aperture and exposure are people using. some of those photos are amazing, i never get anything close to them when trying this sort of thing

lolie · 28-02-2014 3:53pm

hellboy99 wrote: »

Will there be a show of it again tonight?

Very slim chance of seeing them tonight i'd say as the storm is subsiding.
The Sunspot the flare and cme came from is turning towards Earth and theres a good chance of another strong flare from it in the coming days so we might see something yet.

Some stunning photos in the Spaceweather gallery http://spaceweathergallery.com/aurora_gallery.html

tylercollins · 28-02-2014 9:19pm

Here's a short 17 second timelapse from last night that I got.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UMC-rCWONM

electrobanana · 28-02-2014 9:41pm

Im in The Shetlands i was ment to get out and take some pics but fell asleep :mad: can anyone tell me if we'll get another chance to see them up here if so when,,thanks

Iancar29 · 28-02-2014 11:20pm

electrobanana wrote: »

Im in The Shetlands i was ment to get out and take some pics but fell asleep :mad: can anyone tell me if we'll get another chance to see them up here if so when,,thanks

First you need another decent flare off the sun , then you want the CME of that flare to head towards earth. Then you want that cme to hit strongly while we are just heading into night with clear skies.

None of the above have happened since the X flare which caused yesterdays storm .

A waiting game im afraid.

Iancar29 · 28-02-2014 11:24pm

AdrianII wrote: »

what kind of lense's , aperture and exposure are people using. some of those photos are amazing, i never get anything close to them when trying this sort of thing

Any standard kit lens or wide angle lens will do. F 4 or better (F 2.8 ideal )
Exposures yesterday people where getting 15 seconds at ISO 800 which is brilliant for aurora over here. The general settings though for weaker events would be ISO 3200 20 seconds.

No doubt that they would've been visible all over the country yesterday if it had of been clear.

Heres my shot from near DUblin Airport in 2012.

Pretzill · 01-03-2014 12:21am

Would love to see the aurora a bit miffed I missed the latest show because I live in the Northwest though not as far up as those lovely pictures from Donegal, I'm still.keeping an eye on the night sky. It's a lovely frosty clear night tonight georgeous views of the plough etc and although I live rural there's a blooming neighbour facing north who is blighting the northern sky with about 15 of those f*cking outside lights!! Am I right that the best place to look for the AB's is north - or will if it happens spread across the sky to east, south? Otherwise I may need a long range rifle (kidding - really)

Hal1 · 01-03-2014 12:24am

Unless you live inside the artic circle, I wouldn't expect to see any AB's.

Patty O Furniture · 02-03-2014 2:20am

Villain wrote: »

Another from Donegal this time from Rita Wilson on Facebook

Looks beautiful, i came across more of her photos by accident on Irish Central

mallards · 02-03-2014 10:21am

These two are from Tyrone Skies twitter feed and they have a lot more on their website. The first is taken over lough Fea and the second over beaghmore stone circles.

Gonzo · 02-03-2014 9:30pm

any chance of seeing anything tonight? really nice clear night here, saw a few shooting stars.

lolie · 03-03-2014 12:11am

Gonzo wrote: »

any chance of seeing anything tonight? really nice clear night here, saw a few shooting stars.

Nope.
Unless the sunspot's in the pic let rip in the next few days and send a decent Cme towards Earth then it could be a good while before we have a chance of seeing them again.
Good might for viewing the planets though.

Hal1 · 03-03-2014 12:29am

Keep an eye on here for updates: http://www.solarham.net/

Solar Flare Risk
M-Class: 70%
X-Class: 25%

mel.b · 06-03-2014 10:26pm

Has anyone seen an aurora tonight? A friend in Co.Clare said she has been watching it from about 9pm but spaceweather and the aurora forecast oval don't show anything that would be seen this far south.

Gonzo · 06-03-2014 11:57pm

can't be true plus it's been raining across much of the country including clare for past few hours!

fits · 07-03-2014 6:44am

I was flying east over siberia a few weeks ago. It was a night flight so I knew there would be a fair chance so made sure I got a window seat on the left. Sure enough, incredible display. Green and red towers fluttering like a curtain in the breeze. Ive seen the aurora a few times now but this was by far the most spectacular. However, all the Japanese on the plane went bananas! it was hilarious. I got up close and personal with a good few who asked to lean over me to look out the window.

mel.b · 07-03-2014 10:11am

Gonzo wrote: »

can't be true plus it's been raining across much of the country including clare for past few hours!

That's what i thougt, but i didn't see what she saw and i wasn't going to tell her it wasn't. Figured it would be all over facebook etc if it was seen as far south as us.

bnt · 11-09-2014 8:51am

Aurora prospects better for 12-13 September, after a strong flare last night (link):

Space Weather Message Code: WATA50
Serial Number: 50
Issue Time: 2014 Sep 11 0459 UTC

WATCH: Geomagnetic Storm Category G3 Predicted
Highest Storm Level Predicted by Day:
Sep 12: G2 (Moderate) Sep 13: G3 (Strong) Sep 14: G1 (Minor)
THIS SUPERSEDES ANY/ALL PRIOR WATCHES IN EFFECT

Comment: Upgrading the Watch for 13-14 Sep due to anticipated effects from the CME associated with yesterdays R3 (Strong) event.
Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 50 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.
Induced Currents - Power system voltage irregularities possible, false alarms may be triggered on some protection devices.
Spacecraft - Systems may experience surface charging; increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites and orientation problems may occur.
Navigation - Intermittent satellite navigation (GPS) problems, including loss-of-lock and increased range error may occur.
Radio - HF (high frequency) radio may be intermittent.
Aurora - Aurora may be seen as low as Pennsylvania to Iowa to Oregon.

Iancar29 · 11-09-2014 2:01pm

Yep , could be visible as far south as cork away from city lights with KP 7 possibly even KP8 on the cards .

Mars Bar · 11-09-2014 2:10pm

So a chance we might be able to see them in North-East Galway?

Rikand · 11-09-2014 2:12pm

So Friday night or Saturday night the best bets ?

lolie · 11-09-2014 5:22pm

Rikand wrote: »

So Friday night or Saturday night the best bets ?

It's forecast to hit tomorrow afternoon so tomorrow night most likely.
Also another cme from the same sunspot which left the sun on Monday night is forecast to give a glancing blow tomorrow so if all goes to plan we could be in for a real treat.
Forecast is good weather wise but the bright moon might scupper things a bit.

maquiladora · 11-09-2014 6:25pm

Update from Spaceweather

Among space weather forecasters, confidence is building that Earth's magnetic field will receive a double-blow from a pair of CMEs on Sept. 12th. The two storm clouds were propelled in our direction by explosions in the magnetic canopy of sunspot AR2158 on Sept. 9th and 10th, respectively. Strong geomagnetic storms are possible on Sept. 12th and 13th as a result of the consecutive impacts. Sky watchers, even those at mid-latitudes, should be alert for auroras in the nights ahead

20% risk of major-severe geomagnetic storm tomorrow for mid-latitudes. 80% for high latitudes.

mel.b · 11-09-2014 8:27pm

So I've just booked Fri night in Donegal Town (can't really get much further north that evening as leaving after work) and Sat night for Malin Head. Can anywhere here recommend anywhere around Donegal town (say within 30-40min) that would be picturesque and potentially good viewing?

Auldloon · 11-09-2014 9:06pm

Ooh I'm in southern norway working and the sky forecasts are clear so could be good!

Gipo3 · 11-09-2014 9:59pm

mel.b wrote: »

So I've just booked Fri night in Donegal Town (can't really get much further north that evening as leaving after work) and Sat night for Malin Head. Can anywhere here recommend anywhere around Donegal town (say within 30-40min) that would be picturesque and potentially good viewing?

Somewhere round lough Eske maybe.

maquiladora · 12-09-2014 7:40am

Major-severe geomagnetic storm risk has been raised to 45% from 20% for mid-latitudes.

highdef · 12-09-2014 10:30am

maquiladora wrote: »

Major-severe geomagnetic storm risk has been raised to 45% from 20% for mid-latitudes.

What would the implications of this raise in risk level, both geographically and the result?

eastmayo · 12-09-2014 10:47am

How far south in Ireland is this likely to be seen tonight?

John.Icy · 12-09-2014 11:17am

Super moon for the meteor shower just passed, big bright moon currently.

The moon is ruining our lives.

Should still see a little something, but auroras in the summer are apparently hard enough to see with some brightness still in the northern sky and a big bright moon will make things even harder but fingers crossed.

Aurora Prospects 2014

Comments