The Great Aurora of May 2024

[gary]

The US NOAA has issued a Geomagnetic Storm Watch.



See :-
https://www.spaceweather.gov/news/g4-watch-effect-may-11



See :-
https://www.sws.bom.gov.au/Aurora

[ChrisD]

If I understand the data correctly it looks like the Aurora could be visible from Tasmania and southern Victoria late on the 11th around midnight.

Chris

[peter_4059]

It started at about 3am this morning and carried on through to sun rise. Cloudy but still impressive based on the allsky cam time lapse.

Link here:

https://youtu.be/XlSxFFyXFjc

[Saturnine]

Have been following the aurora predicting and spaceweather sites for a few days after reading about the series of X class flares heading our way.
Being under complete cloud and rain cover and nowhere within 1/2 days drive that isn't , is doing my head in. The auroral displays may persist into tonight / tomorrow morning due to the strength of the storms so I'm hoping that there will be a break in the clouds at some stage.

[gary]

From a friend in southern Michigan right now with just a smartphone camera

[wavelandscott]

Pretty vivid here in Connecticut tonight…quite exciting

[Atmos]

We had a X5.8 flare a few hours ago which makes it about 6 X class flares in the past few days and over 100 M class in the last few days as well.

[pgc hunter]

The few times it is cloudy here has to be now....

[ChrisD]

Now upgraded to G5
https://www.spaceweather.gov/news/g5-conditions-observed


This image was on reddit posted from Northern Italy!

[peter_4059]

It's going off down here. Can see red naked eye!

[iborg]

Lucky so-n-so!!


We are off down the Mornington Peninsula, hopefully we'll see something.


Philip

[gary]

Images appearing a short while ago of bright pink skies at Albury

[pgc hunter]

Saw it here in Renmark! Went for a walk, and saw what looked like the beams of a couple of spot lights looming above the houses. Then it hit me what it actually was. Had a ruddy colour too. Unfortunately, cloud moved in before I could get away from the street lights. Forecast to clear up later on though.

[toc]

Cant see a thing in northern suburbs of Melbourne, but I did expect to really.

[MortonH]

So I'm missing the aurora and the comet due to the weather. Might as well be back in Scotland!

[gary]

spacezebra's (Petra's) image from Albury posted at 21:00 11 May 2024

[ChrisD]

Eltham in Melbourne, its faint but images ok on a phone.

[gary]

Images from Adrian Saw down in Tasmania at 21:30 11 May 2024

[peter_4059]

just hit Kp9!

[gary]

Bom

[gary]

Was visible in central south Texas!!!

https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2024/05/11/ksat-connect-aurora-borealis-spotted-in-south-central-texas-due-to-geomagnetic-storm

[peter_4059]

here's my contribution

[toc]

Back in Melbourne North it was pretty much invisible to the naked eye, but the phone showed a bit of a pinkish hue.

[rustigsmed]

surprised to see it frankston beach, caught it when it went really bright could see greens and reds naked eye.

[gary]

Images taken yesterday by friend Matt Bielski in Michigan. Nikon Z8

[gary]

Image taken yesterday by friend Alan Dyer in Alberta, Canada

Alan's Amazing Sky web site :-
https://amazingsky.net/

[gary]

Images taken yesterday from the ISS

[gary]

Alan Dyer's sunspots photographs May 9



Alan's Amazing Sky web site :-
https://amazingsky.net/

[gary]

Was observed in the Florida Keys 24.4° N

[gary]

Post by PacMan Space Weaher

[gary]

Pictorial at ABC today :-

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-11/auroras-seen-worldwide-as-geomagnetic-storm-hits-earth/103834604

[peter_4059]

Uploaded the all sky time lapse from last night here:

https://youtu.be/zX1mUkJtAWs

[gary]

Benjamin Alldridge Southern Hemisphere Aurora Group :-

[gary]

Ross River Dam, Townsville, Qld. Latitude 19.41° S

[AstroViking]

I can't beat Townsville for distance from the magnetic pole, but it was naked-eye visible from Philip Island last night.

[gary]

Uluru

[erick]

:rain: the whole weekend so a bucket-list item missed.:sadeyes:

In fact rain for the last 10 or so days. I started measuring from Saturday morning 4th May. Rain gauge overflowed (>230mm) over one night. I estimated a total of 500mm until the clouds cleared Monday 13th. That's half our annual average rainfall in 9 days!

Congratulations to all who saw this rare (ish) sight.

[MortonH]

So gutted. I've seen the northern lights in Scotland but nothing like this.

[OzEclipse]

I posted an image of sunspot group AR3664/AR3668 here:
https://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment_browse.php?a=317102

Aurora predictions were fantastic but examination of the ECMFW cloud model on Saturday was grim. Out here on the slopes and plains, that model is extremely accurate. I host groups out here several times a year and use that to postpone if clouds are predicted or give the go ahead for people to travel out here if predicted clear. Over the past 3 years and about a dozen events, I've never hosted people here and had them sit around in cloudy weather. Same for my own work. Always know whether it's worth setting up or not.

Based on the model prediction, I decided to take a 400km each way trip from Young out west to the Hay Plains driving out on Saturday afternoon, returning Sunday morning to escape the weather in the east. I left at 3pm arriving at 7pm. This allowed me to see whether the clearing change had arrived or whether I needed to keep driving.

Had I lived in Sydney or Canberra, I probably would have baulked due to the greater distances. I drove through pretty continuous rain for the first 3 hrs and was beginning to question my decision when the rain suddenly stopped as I was driving into Narrandera. As I drove west on the Sturt Hwy, the cloud thinned. I could see the glow faintly through cloud and brighter through gaps. When the cloud was sufficiently dispersed, I found a roadside rest area with a clear south horizon and set up.


I posted a selection of aurora images from my western NSW trip here:-
https://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=1610798&postcount=1

and here:-
https://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=1610850&postcount=7

In 2015, I was lucky enough to see a bright Kp5 display from a farm stay outside Trømso in 2015. The display was so bright, it lit up the landscape and it was a Phoenix type display(see attached image-green aurora).

Saturday night's event from Bortle 1 skies midway between Narrandera and Hay was really spectacular and special. It was green near the horizon, with a red arc and vertical pillars that pulsated varying from white (scotopic vision) to red (photopic vision). Some of the intensity pulsations in the vertical pillars had frequencies greater than 1Hz. See image showing pillars and red sky.

Such events only occur about once every 20 years so doing the maths, this might have been my last opportunity from NSW. :eyepop:

cheers

Joe

[strongmanmike]

Crazy amazing sight! :eyepop:

Nothing Mon night/Tues morning up at Eagleview, I missed this bloody event, it would have been a miraculous sight from the loungeroom (https://pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/171841096/original), a couple of days earlier! :sadeyes: bloody clouds :tasdevil:

Mike

[strongmanmike]

Wow Joe, well worth the drive for THAT! :eyepop:

Mike

[AstroViking]

Joe,

Those are fantastic images - the colours you've captured are fantastic to behold. They're well worth the drive.




To add my contributions to the thread, these three were captured at Pyramid Rock, Philip Island on Saturday night. (It seemed like half of Melbourne was there, most of them waving bright torches around and ruining my night-vision. At least I now know where to go next time, so that I avoid all the crowds.)

I spent a few years in Canada, so the aurora isn't unusual to me. However, those pale bands of white/grey waving across the night skies in the depths of winter are nothing compared to what was on show here. I have never, ever, seen colours in the aurora with the naked eye like this.

These images are (aside from scaling down and watermarking) straight from the camera - no processing.

Cheers,
V.


Nikon D7100 / Samyang 14mm @ f2.8 / 15 seconds / ISO 1600

[N1]

Far out!

[gary]

How the May 2024 Aurora compared to historical events

[OzEclipse]

Excellent images Steve! Looks like you had a great night of your own.

Joe

[RobF]

You never should have moved down there Peter - how are you going to do any decent AP through all those Auroras now!? :rofl:

(B great shots and timelapse - thanks for sharing :thumbsup: )