Aurora tonight?

[begreen]

The space weather geeks are quite jazzed up about the 5 CMEs that just occurred. There could be some good aurora viewing in northern states. It's a strong event. Now at G4 which I think is the first time in about 20 yrs. If it keeps on building, even southern states may have a chance at viewing.

Homepage | NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center

www.swpc.noaa.gov

 

[peakbagger]

Looks like its tonight and Saturday night. I got to view a big event from my driveway during the last solar max. I could look south and see shimmering yellow strips while it was mostly green to the north.

Not a great time to depend on GPS. Hydro Quebec got knocked out during a big event like this back in the seventies.

 

[stoveliker]

Yes, they also mentioned it in the Netherlands as best in 20 years. Unfortunately Long Island is cloudy...

 

[webfish]

Daughter just sent pics from Ireland.

 

[begreen]

Yes, the UK is also getting quite a show right now.

Jaw-Dropping Aurora Borealis Illuminate the Northern Sky Amid Solar Storm

At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country?

www.thedailybeast.com

 

[stoveliker]

 

[begreen]

Not a great time to depend on GPS. Hydro Quebec got knocked out during a big event like this back in the seventies.

I remember that. I wouldn't want to be flying this weekend.

 

[stoveliker]

I would. Great views from up there!

(Truly; flying to Europe in winter nights gives a fantastic view of the night-lights in the sky if you sit on the left side of the plane.)

I have not heard of issues with Aurora and flight navigation. (And my dad was a pilot all his life; half airforce half airline).

And if it was a problem, would they not refrain from doing the following?

One of the Best Ways to See the Northern Lights? On an Airplane

Flights to Iceland are notorious for offering glimpses of the dancing lights—here, an Icelandair pilot shares tips on spotting them from your seat (including which side of the plane to sit on).

www.cntraveler.com

Edit:

Do the Northern Lights Affect Airplanes and Cargo Ships? - Alaska Air Forwarding

When the northern lights are in the sky, they can affect a wide variety of radio and electrical equipment used by airplanes and cargo ships.

www.alaskaaircargo.com

"especially closer to the equator", which surprises me.. Have to think about that.

Edit 2, explanation for (magnetic) equator (as the magnetic poles are not exactly at the geometric poles):

Space Weather and GPS Systems | NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center

www.swpc.noaa.gov

Curiosity satisfied

 

[begreen]

The problem is that electronic and electrical disruptions can be random. I'd err for this event because there is a slim chance of it turning into a Carrington event. This hasn't happened since 1859 - pre airplanes, but it does show that there is a >0 chance of it happening again. G4 is what was predicted this morning. We've gone from G2 to G5 in the last 6 hrs. G5 is considered severe/extreme. I can't provide much more info from NOAA. Their servers appear to be getting overloaded and are timing out. G4 is what was predicted this morning.

 

[stoveliker]

Yes, but other than via power outages, Carrington has nothing to do with GPS.
(And I'm not even sure that gps needs grid tied stations?)

I guess I was at noaa just before they overloaded. They say it was mostly an issue at the magnetic equator.

Ah well, we'll know. I do think that the FAA would have given out warnings if this has a chance of affecting hundreds of flights at the same time...

 

[stoveliker]

From NOAA:

 

[begreen]

There are 6 CMEs heading toward earth. If they coalesce the punch will be strong. Hopefully the GPS satellites are hardened enough to withstand the effects of electrical induction but some like the Starlink birds may not survive. I remember the early communications satellite system (Telstar?) getting knocked out by a strong event decades ago.

 

[stoveliker]

My backyard

 

[ABMax24]

Looking west from our place.

 

[hearthon]

Looks beautiful on camera but couldn't really see much with the naked eye. I'm in windsor ontario.

 

[peakbagger]

I was clouded out Friday night I will give it another try tonight.

 

[begreen]

It was a nice lightshow here. Definitely more subtle than what I saw in 1971 in rural CT, but it was much darker there with a lot less light pollution. These shots were taken between 11pm and midnight. They were 2 and 3 second exposures.

 

[TheJeff]

I don't have pics, but i could see lots of redish pink and ocassional streaks of green without cam.

 

[thewoodlands]

See aurora light up the skies over Upstate New York (photos, video)

Shutterbugs across the state captured a kaleidoscope of colors in last night's skies.

www.syracuse.com

 

[stoveliker]

Mine (above) was visible with the naked eye..I didn't stay up to see if more (colors) would come.
It was.ny first time seeing this.

 

[begreen]

This viewing was much more subtle than the first 2 times I saw the aurora back east. At first it looked like smoke, or high clouds but after I had been outside for about 10 minutes and moved to a darker part of the yard I was able to see more colors. The second time I saw the aurora was off the Maine coast on a sailboat. That was bright and with a lot of movement. At times it felt like the solar winds were pushing the sails.

 

[Solarguy3500]

I got a few pictures out in my yard here in Western MA. You could see it faintly with the naked eye, but the camera made it much brighter. I was shooting in 200MP mode so the files are too large to upload. I'll try to figure out if I can reduce the file size and post them.

Looks like it might be too cloudy here tonight to see anything.

Edit: here are a few that I took at 50 MP so the file size was smaller.

 

[begreen]

I think you'll need to downsize them quite a bit for forum posting.

 

[Pinesmoke]

We have spotty cloud cover tonight but have a fire going and going. Hoping it clears some. I saw pics today shot last night about 25 North of here so it's this far South.

 

[stoveliker]

Talked to my dad today (called home for mother's day).
Gps going down indeed has zero issues for (airline) planes. They all have inertial navigation system(s?) and another system as back up for GPS.