Who has seen the Northern lights?

murrayp4

As the Q asks...
I've seen them a few times as a kid in Mayo- in the Northern sky over the Ox mountains. Pretty faint but definitely visible.

Saaron

Unfortunately i haven't.

But i hope someday i can make the trip to Norway or Iceland to see it.
Always wanted to go to them two Countries.

The Northern lights is definitely Something i wanna experience in my life

slade_x

I have seen them but i would love to see them from extreme north locations (eg. greenland/iceland/norway/sweden/ the arctic) or extreme south for australis like new zealand

Mikko Mallikas

Yes, having lived in Finland for the last 12 years

muskyj

i have seen them a few times over the years from here in Ireland but the most memorable of course was the fantastic display in October 2003 when the lights covered so much of the sky that they were visible in the southern part of the sky.

emo72

seen them from dublin. Greenish tinge very high in the sky. Can't remember when but it might have been 2003 also.

krd

I've seen them from an aircraft.......Spectacular. It really did look like huge green dragons.


I have seen them from the ground in the south of Ireland. Less impressive. It looked like green coloured tractor head lights.

Cú Giobach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5i1cJIwE7M

Zubeneschamali

I have seen them from Athlone within the last few years.

dbran

Hi

Going to Tromso in Norway at the end of this month and hopefully will get to see my first Northern Lights display....Fingers and toes crossed!!:D

dbran

Hammer Archer

Saw the 2003 event also. Quite spectacular.
I think there was another Aurora event not to long after that as well.

peter1892

Once, from Dublin in 1991. They were red, spectacular sight.

Beeker

Saw them in Iceland a few years back, beautiful!

willier

Saw them in 2003 too. Unforgettable to be honest.

getz

every time i sailed to canada on the merchant ships in winter we would see them

User Friendly

dbran wrote: »

Hi

Going to Tromso in Norway at the end of this month and hopefully will get to see my first Northern Lights display....Fingers and toes crossed!!:D

dbran

Lucky you! get some pics or better still get a video and please post it up.:)

Above all the sights on our planet,the northern lights really do it for me.

ednwireland

saw this one in 2003



from
http://staffweb.itsligo.ie/staff/dcotton/Meteorology.html

A tremendous image of this atmospheric phenomenon was taken by James Connolly (Picsell8) on 29 October 2003 and was reproduced the next day on the front page of the Irish Times newspaper.

280special

Saw them very clearly back sometime between 1998 and 2001 outside Dundalk. A couple of us were still using 27 mhz sideband radios back then , mostly for chatting between ourselves and for contacts using Skip to other countries.

That night as i was on my out to a pal's house the radio went nuts, couldnt hear anyone locally but could hear all sorts of stuff coming in from Europe. One guy from Southern Germany was really scared , didnt understand what was happening and kept calling out asking WTF was going on, he was hearing all sorts of wierd stuff from the far end of Russia !!! We didnt know what the hell it was either untill we saw the sky. What a show!!! Waves of colour going from one side of the sky to the other, keep looking in the hope of seeing it again but no joy so far .

cocoshovel

Saw them in Kilkenny in the early 2000's. It wasn't anythign spectacular, just seemed like a slightly white glow in the sky. Hardly even noticeable to be honest. I was young and disinterested too, love to see them again.

orangebud

Smoking on some northern lights at the moment.. I'm in awa of the power of it

Socialist_Pig

Mikko Mallikas wrote: »

Yes, having lived in Finland for the last 12 years

was over there during the summer and was a wee put out it was the wrong time of year....have an invite to go over for the winter so might take it up at some stage...

murrayp4

Irish eyes on northern lights

Sun, Jan 08, 2012

One of the world’s most famous and stunning solar phenomena is eagerly expected over Irish skies in the coming weeks, stargazers have said.

The celebrated Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, has its best chance of being seen in more than a decade because of a peak in the sun's activity.

The celestial light show appears as ghostly, wispy rays of greenish and whitish colours dancing across the heavens.

Brendan Alexander, an astronomer in Co Donegal, said the further north and away from city lights people are, the better chance they have of seeing the dream-like spectacular.

“It’s definitely worth seeking out,” he said. “It’s an event that — especially on these shores — is so rare. But we are lucky to live just north enough to experience it — any country further south than us won’t be able to see it.”

The sun has a “heartbeat” every 11 years or so — known as the solar cycle — and when it erupts, charged particles blast into space and are sucked into the North Pole.

These explosions react with the earth’s atmosphere, sparking great swathes o coloured light over the night skies, known for centuries by native north Americans as the Dance of the Spirits.

The long, clear darkness of winter is among the most likely times to see it and astronomers believe the sun will hit the peak of its cycle again in the coming year.

Between now and the equinox in March is being tipped as the best opportunity in Ireland for more than ten years.

“It is really captivating, just the sheer strangeness of it means it’s worthwhile seeking it out,” said Mr Alexander, who saw the phenomenon for the second time from the Donegal coast last March.

The postgraduate, who is studying for a Research Masters Degree in Science at Letterkenny Institute of Technology, said observers should give their eyes about 20 minutes to adapt to the dark.

Then they should look towards the northern horizon for a whitish or greenish dome of light.

“From time to time you will see rays shoot up from the dome of light, across the horizon, and if it gets really active you can see the rays moving across the base of the dome, and they can shoot right up to the centre of the sky,” he said.

“When you are watching the display it’s very eerie, almost alien. It’s like nothing you have seen before.”

Mr Alexander, who was shortlisted for the BBC Stargazing Live’s astronomy photographer of the year contest, issues free alerts on expected sightings through his www.donegalskies.com website.

© 2012 irishtimes.com

Iancar29

Going to Abisko , Sweden on the 20th for 4 nights!... FINGERS CROSSED!

testicle

slade_x wrote: »

I have seen them but i would love to see them from extreme north locations (eg. greenland/iceland/norway/sweden/ the arctic) or extreme south for australis like new zealand

NZ is on the same latitude as Italy, you'll be very lucky to see the Aurora Australis there.

Duiske

Seen them in the early 80's (Co. Kilkenny). Heard about the early 2000's event, but was living in the states at the time.

slade_x

testicle wrote: »

NZ is on the same latitude as Italy, you'll be very lucky to see the Aurora Australis there.

Aurora Austrialis can be and has been viewed from locations in australia, new zealand, south america and obviously antarctica

http://www.google.ie/search?q=aurora+australis+new+zealand&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=IXgKT-KQIc24hAel3dmZCQ&ved=0CDYQsAQ&biw=1521&bih=970

For example: http://pixdaus.com/single.php?id=153167

Aurora Austrialis over New Zealand

stoneill

In Canada and the 2003 event.

The 2003 event was used as conclusive proof by a friend of mine as the imminent polarity swap and total disturbance of the Earth's magnetic field.
He was convinced that bees and pigeons would get lost and aircraft would land at wrong airports.

Dave!

It says in the IT article that they're visible from Donegal... Anyone able to confirm?

What would be the best time (of year... and of night I guess!) to see them?

Worth a drive up that direction I would think

4gun

I have seen them twice over the last 30 years or so from where I live in kerry

Rubecula

Never seen them. Want to see them at least once before I pop me clogs though.

emmetmurphy

I am just back from johnny foxes and saw them on my way home, great view from kilakee car park, get there quick the car park is almost full

Seanie M

Caught the shows in 1992, 1993, 2003, 2004 and loads more faints ones almost every year. Never get tired of seeing them. Funny that, because in some areas of the Arctic, they are seen as a nuisance to 'normal' astronomy observing!

Seanie.

cfuserkildare

Hi,

Every year when I was growing up in Scotland.

Awesome.

bradyle

Don't know if any of ye are in the north of the country but got a text from my dad last night to tell me he was standing out watching them. He'd be in Cavan, He said the cloud cover made it pretty hard to see but that they should be around for a few days so if it clears up and ye watch out you could get lucky.

I'm sadly stuck in Dublin not a hope I'll see them.

I've probably seen them 3 or 4 times in my life, just the blues and greens though. Always in Cavan...sometimes living in the middle of nowhere with minimal light pollution has an advantage :P

Definitely an aim to head to a more northern country and get to see them in all their glory!!

chopser

Is there a best particular time t oview the lights , i.e sunset or if they are visible is it all night?

slimboyfat

chopser wrote: »

Is there a best particular time t oview the lights , i.e sunset or if they are visible is it all night?

When its dark but there must be a near clear sky to view them, you can't see them through clouds.

Fuzzy Clam

Saw them once a few years ago whilst driving across the Curragh in Kildare.