Chance of Aurora Australis tonight 8-3-12

[Lester]

Hi all, just got this news, saying due to large solar flare there is a big chance of there being an Aurora Australis tonight. Pity about the Full Moon, but I will still be keeping an eye out for any activity.

All the best.

[mswhin63 (Malcolm)]

Yes tomorrow night as well. The forecast is level 1 higher for tomorrow night than tonight.

[multiweb (Marc)]

You can see it from Perth?

[Shark Bait (Stu)]

I hope that you get a chace to image the Southern Lights.

[stephenb (Stephen)]

Yess, I'm looking forward to seeing it here in Melbourne

[mswhin63 (Malcolm)]

Originally Posted by multiweb

You can see it from Perth?

I hope so, just got to deal with the house South of me. Maybe hope a small tornado comes through and blow the roof off.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Any Auroras that appear will probably be washed out by the Moon making them extremely hard to see

and it's cloudy here, but I'll have a check every know and then after the cricket finishes

[stardust steve (Steve)]

Originally Posted by Lester

Hi all, just got this news, saying due to large solar flare there is a big chance of there being an Aurora Australis tonight. Pity about the Full Moon, but I will still be keeping an eye out for any activity.

All the best.

Good luck Lester. I will be trying to image the moon using a t-ring that's too small for my 500D Haha.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Even NOAA won't say what's happening: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/pmap/gif/pmapN.gif

[Jen]

whats the best times to try and see one of these

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Originally Posted by Jen

whats the best times to try and see one of these

At night time Jen

I am going out after midnight to look (if the cloud racks off).


This will Help:

WHAT TIME OF NIGHT IS BEST FOR VIEWING THE AURORA?

It is difficult to say what exactly is the best time of night to view the aurora. There are however some generalizations:

Between 10:00pm to 2:00am seems to be the time frame most conducive to aurora activity, so say the scientists and my experience confirms that. Below is a quote from University of Alaska Geophysical Institute website:
“The best time to observe aurora is near local midnight, when the most active forms often occur. More precisely, the time to shoot for is an hour or two prior to local geomagnetic midnight, and the forecast maps found here are calculated for that time. If you are a serious aurora watcher, plan to spend the night from about 9 P.M. to 3 A.M. watching for auroral action. Auroral activity tends to come in waves during an evening, which are called auroral substorms. Even during an active period, there will be lulls in which the auroral activity is subdued; however, the patient observer will often see a new burst of activity within an hour or two.”

Stay awake and be ready. I’ve never had much luck by going to sleep and then checking periodically. By the time you actually get dressed and get all the camera gear ready, the show can easily be over.
Plan to spend a chunk of time viewing. The aurora displays and activity follows a somewhat predictable pattern. Whether it is a homogenous arc, a rayed arc, or a corona, they present different types of photo opportunities, at different times of the night.
Scout your location in daylight and thus be ready. Displays can vary in duration, sometimes hours, sometimes only minutes. Be prepared when the action happens.
Remember, it varies widely. I try to get out as early in the night as possible with hopes of catching a little bit of the fading dusk light (and it does not take much) since it offers some wonderful blue colors in the sky.
(Alaska PhotographyBlog.com)

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Originally Posted by ballaratdragons

Even NOAA won't say what's happening: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/pmap/gif/pmapN.gif

They sure picked a good time to go off line didn't they. LOL
Shame about that damn moon eh. But just maybe you'll be lucky to catch a tinge to the sky.

[Lester]

Thanks for the info Ken. No action here yet.

All the best.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Originally Posted by jjjnettie

They sure picked a good time to go off line didn't they. LOL
Shame about that damn moon eh. But just maybe you'll be lucky to catch a tinge to the sky.

Yes, not impressed with NOAA's timing to do maintenance.
They have been offline for over a week now!

The camera will show the Aurora, Moon or not
Just be better without

Originally Posted by Lester

Thanks for the info Ken. No action here yet.

All the best.

Keep watching Lester.
I keep checking about every 10 minutes for a break in the clouds.
Tomorrow night sounds better.

[Nico13 (Ken)]

Still at work at the moment so I might go up on the roof and have a look see.
Fairly high up where I am here at the Ford Test track, Nth West side of the YouYangs Nth of Geelong if I'm lucky the clouds will bugger off for a bit in the south, they can stay in the Nth and hide the moon if they like.

EDIT

Well that didn't take long, poked my head out the back door and it's drizzling light rain too many lights around here anyway.
Maybe tomorrow night when I get home, thats about 1:30am so if it's clear could be good.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Ken!!!

Why are you still at the Proving Grounds at Midnight?
Going for a late night experimental drive huh?
Testing headlights?

[Nico13 (Ken)]

Originally Posted by ballaratdragons

Ken!!!

Why are you still at the Proving Grounds at Midnight?
Going for a late night experimental drive huh?
Testing headlights?

Testing headlights Glad I don't have to do that

Nah my jobs in a Lab testing the cars on Dyno's, Fuel economy and Exhaust Emissions to make sure they meet regulations.
Pretty good actually, it's 23 deg all year round in here always summer time.
Could be snowing outside for all I know until I knock off. Going home at 1/4 to 1:00am

[JB80 (Jarrod)]

Originally Posted by jjjnettie

They sure picked a good time to go off line didn't they. LOL
Shame about that damn moon eh. But just maybe you'll be lucky to catch a tinge to the sky.

I have been watching this one instead.
http://helios.swpc.noaa.gov/ovation/South.html

It'd take a pretty big jump in the Kp index before I'd stand a chance to see it in Belgium tonight.
Oh well.... it's cloudy anyway.

[Nico13 (Ken)]

Originally Posted by JB80

I have been watching this one instead.
http://helios.swpc.noaa.gov/ovation/South.html

It'd take a pretty big jump in the Kp index before I'd stand a chance to see it in Belgium tonight.
Oh well.... it's cloudy anyway.

Thanks Jarrod, thats a good link, book marked that one.
Off home now and off to beddy bies.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Thanks Jarrod!

Now we can get live NOAA updates again, thanks

The red 'View Line' is a handy accessory
I've never seen it used before on any of the usual websites and graphs.