Huge Earth directed solar X-Flare

Etnies · 13-09-2014 1:08am

Was just up all round Sally gap and glendalough and nothing in sight.. gave up and went home.

JJJJNR · 13-09-2014 1:11am

There is some activity, it was there all along its very very faint but there is faint "dancing" in the cloud free areas of the sky, going to setup.

mystic86 · 13-09-2014 1:25am

I'm in Howth, can't see a thing, it's misty /foggy and there is a load of light pollution. Can't see anything in the parts of the sky that I can see

JJJJNR · 13-09-2014 1:39am

Actually nothing to see, must have been my eyes playing tricks. Sorry false alarm.

mystic86 · 13-09-2014 1:41am

This sucks.
Big moon out not helping either.

youtube! · 13-09-2014 1:42am

What a disappointment

shedweller · 13-09-2014 4:01am

Too much low lying mist and i can only see some of the brighter stars above about 30 degrees elevation. And the moon. Nice big ring around it though...
Ah well. We did try!

jfSDAS · 13-09-2014 10:24am

Hi all,

Drove to just north of Newry, stopping at a few places along the way to check the sky, but nothing seen. Lots of fog in parts, generally milky skies scattering moonlight and street lights, and a couple of "I don't think we are in Kansas anymore Toto" moments when lost on a few back roads ;-)

Overall, it was worth a try and a good experience on checking various web sites learning what to look for, bolstering the knowledge of the causes & effects of space weather, and that feeling of anticipation of witnessing one of nature's greatest sights some stage in my lifetime.

I saw a mug recently that said, "Keep Calm, the sky is bound to clear sometime" ;-)

John

Urfa · 13-09-2014 12:23pm

Hey Everyone

Had a look around the hill of tara and kells and no joy

Is there any hope for tonight??

Mickeroo · 13-09-2014 12:39pm

Yeah there was nothing doing in Mayo either. Was clear over head but too misty near the horizon and the big moon didn't help.

Sheeps · 13-09-2014 6:01pm

I'm gonna try head north of Dublin tonight see if I can spot anything.

mystic86 · 13-09-2014 6:04pm

Sheeps wrote: »

I'm gonna try head north of Dublin tonight see if I can spot anything.

take me, I've no transport..?

Urfa · 13-09-2014 6:13pm

Does anyone have an idea of the forecast for tonight?? There doesn't seem to be as much about it today as there was yesterday!!

mickmackey1 · 13-09-2014 7:57pm

Urfa wrote: »

Does anyone have an idea of the forecast for tonight?? There doesn't seem to be as much about it today as there was yesterday!!

David Moore's view...

mystic86 · 13-09-2014 8:22pm

Not a fan of David Moore myself, don't know what the generally accepted view on him is...?

SpaceTime · 13-09-2014 8:24pm

What time are we expecting this?

wofias8 · 13-09-2014 8:28pm

SpaceTime wrote: »

What time are we expecting this?

Yeah would like to know as well!

karltimber · 13-09-2014 8:48pm

Would the hill of Tara be a good spot for this tonight - looks clear out there now. whats the best time - now ? later ? Thanks

13-09-2014 8:55pm

Any forecasts I see put tonight's peak at kp5, which is no good for us. Not sure why some people are predicting we'll see some activity tonight. I guess you never know...

Urfa · 13-09-2014 9:21pm

karltimber wrote: »

Would the hill of Tara be a good spot for this tonight - looks clear out there now. whats the best time - now ? later ? Thanks

I was at the hill of tara last night as were others. Its a ok spot but there is a lot of light pollution from navan town which is north lying. Making it harder to spot the aurora unless it was a very strong display. Thsts just my personal opinion though im no expert! ! Might be ok for photo purposes.

ShatterProof · 13-09-2014 9:26pm

For the not so bright here. What am I missing and can I see it in limerick tonight?

karltimber · 13-09-2014 9:39pm

Urfa wrote: »

I was at the hill of tara last night as were others. Its a ok spot but there is a lot of light pollution from navan town which is north lying. Making it harder to spot the aurora unless it was a very strong display. Thsts just my personal opinion though im no expert! ! Might be ok for photo purposes.

What time is a good time - not tonight in particular but any night. Will have to keep an eye on this in future(recent convert).

jfSDAS · 13-09-2014 9:47pm

hi everyone,

A friend mentioned that 90% prediction to me today and, to be honest, I wasn't sure if the meejah got their wires crossed or someone was hyping up the northern lights to "high heaven".

I think the 90% possibility is for polar, north Scandinavia, and Canada. Our prospects are far lower and probably we won't see them at all. I'd concur with the best estimate of kp of 5.

A few of the links I posted earlier in this thread have more info on the how's & why's of the aurora.

That said, I hope to be proved wrong about tonight

Despite the extremely disappointing tendency for some astronomical events to be hyped up in Irish media it does get people looking up. The problem is very little information is actually given in these articles/reports such as what to expect, where to look, etc. The hype often is just plain wrong too and people should know better than to perpetuate it when they actually know and have access to the facts.

John

P.S., the only time I've ever, ever, made a prediction about the aurora (which came true!) was after the great Halloween storms in late-October 2003. I showed photos I took of the October aurora displays to a group attending one of the Open Nights at Dunsink. Sticking my neck out, I said the sunspot groups that spawned the Halloween events were so big and energetic that they would come back around the Sun the following month and be still crackling with energy. I suggested they would spark more aurora displays probably the 2nd half of November. And so it happened

Hal1 · 13-09-2014 9:59pm

Well according to solarham:

The Bz component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) has since pointed north, a condition that is known to suppress geomagnetic activity. A geomagnetic storm watch will remain in effect on Saturday.

So in english it means no, unless you are in the far north.

Aru · 13-09-2014 10:20pm

In donegal at the minute and thinking of hitting up to malin head/innisowen...so before my 2 hour drive...what do u think the chances of a glimpse are?in rossnowlagh now and skys are still quite cloudy....

shedweller · 13-09-2014 10:20pm

karltimber wrote: »

Would the hill of Tara be a good spot for this tonight - looks clear out there now. whats the best time - now ? later ? Thanks

If you are that far out you may as well head for the hill of slane. Navans light will then be west/southwest of you. The seeing can be reasonably good there and access is dead easy. From slane crossroads head up the collon road and at the top there is a small lefthander. Take that up the hill and theres parking and all! Access to the abbey there might be an issue but i do remember going up there for the lunar eclipse so i could get something interesting in the foreground of my photos.
Good luck! Its fairly misted over here in Dublin now. Grr

Urfa · 13-09-2014 10:30pm

If anyone heads anywhere around Dublin like the hill of tara/slane please keep us posted! ! Im in two minds about going but so far there doesn't seem to be any joy anywhere! !

Danbo! · 13-09-2014 11:42pm

I set the alarm for 2am last night and drove out towards kinnegad in the hopes of seeing something. The fog on the m4 was the worst I've ever driven in, 50-75ft visibility. The toll came out of nowhere and was difficult to keep straight directly after it as there are no road markings until it's back to 2 lanes. Decided to turn around and come home. I've a few drinks in me now so no venturing out tonight unless I could convince the wife to drive, but I think she was a bit freaked out in the fog last night

youtube! · 14-09-2014 1:49am

mystic86 wrote: »

Not a fan of David Moore myself, don't know what the generally accepted view on him is...?

He is a money grabbing media whore hows that?

Darkglasses · 14-09-2014 1:52am

No sign of anything on the north face of Forth Mountain, county Wexford. Very bright moon and very foggy, probably couldn't see the ISS if it was passing. Bummer, looks like Aurora Borealis stays on my bucket list for now

Huge Earth directed solar X-Flare

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