The Sun - solar activity

I drove up to Naul (which is somewhere just noth of Swords) tonight but couldnt see anything that clearly was an aurora. There was a glow to the north, but its appearance was more like that of glow from a distant town than an aurora.

Cheers,
~Al

groups.yahoo.com/group/auroralobserving/

In case anyone wants more discussion on possible aurora then there are a couple of threads ok uk.sci.astronomy also groups.google.com/groups?group=uk.sci.astronomy

Cheers,
~Al

I was hoping to watch an aurora last night also, but no joy. Before driving anywhere I look at this site sec.noaa.gov/pmap/pmapN.html .
It shows an enlarged of aurora activity in the northern hemisphere. Earlier in the afternoon, I looked at the website and Canada was completely covered in red, indicating that an aurora was most likley seen there in their evening time. However, by the time the sun had set here, the activity seemed to have died down significantly.
Oh well, mabey tonight, if the clouds decide to stay away.
Michael

Just after putting my astrosolar film on my 4.5" scope and took a peek at the sun. WOW is all i can say. The spots there are absolutely amazing. The detail withing the spots is incredible - it's not just one big round black thing but something much more complex in structure. I must definetly invest in a thousandoaks for my 8".
Michael

hi folks,

yes, there was a very quiescent display of aurora during the early hours of Saturday morning ... I'm down home in Dromineer (beside Lough Derg in N. Tipp) and have dark skies and can confirm some "activity".

However, we seem to have got just a glancing blow from the first CME flung our direction by the Sun. Another one is due to hit around 2am on Sunday morning though again it might just be a side-swipe from the plasma cloud.

Al highlighted the yahoo aurora group and there were a few extra posts from people last night while dashing outside to keep an eye on the sky. Nice views of Saturn and Orion rising in the early hours after midnight.

some updates now on that group on the activity last night and prospects for tonight (registration required) but it's run by Brian O'Halloran, one of the Cosmos 2003 speakers in Tullamore.

Sean, number 14 grade welder's glass is fine while number 13 does at a pinch though you might need to tilt the glass slightly to reduce the slight glare. Don't use any grade lower. A friend mentioned to me he used a CD recently -- shock, horror!!! He's been suitably admonished at this stage!!!

cheerio,

John

Sean, number 14 grade welder's glass is fine while number 13 does at a pinch though you might need to tilt the glass slightly to reduce the slight glare. Don't use any grade lower. A friend mentioned to me he used a CD recently -- shock, horror!!! He's been suitably admonished at this stage!!!

cheerio,

John

Thanks John. I still have the piece you gave me at the very first Astrofest way back in '92 (I think it was!), remember? It still works! :lol:

Seanie.