aurora on 30/31 August 2004

hi everyone,

some might say I was seeing things . . . others might say, "sheesh, he's not on about the bloody aurora again!" . . . but . . . there was some activity last night. Spaceweather.com were saying that aurora activity was unlikely -- checked it a few minutes ago though the magnetic field is really tilted south.

I was on my way back from Balbriggan at 11:30pm and stopped just a little outside the town at a dark site to look at a couple of things in Cepheus when I noticed a low greenish arch spanning the NE to NW. I suspected aurora and took a pic on the digital camera to confirm -- yep, definitely aurora!

the near-Full Moon interfered somehat and the camera results weren't great either 'cause I broke the head on the tripod getting it out of the boot . Didn't have the remote either for the camera so I had to press the shutter manually so there's camera shake in most of the shots I got. Have a look at the one pic below though and see what you think. Around 00:15 BST there were some more prominent rays visible though they didn't last long. I left around 00:40 and the display was more subdued by then.

the battery had died on the mobile phone as well . . . what a night! . . . but managed to get one text message off to Ronan in Galway (sorry Ronan, just picked up your replies when I got home and put the phone on recharge).

anyone else see anything?

John

No, but Brian O'Halloran issued a Middle Latitude Auroral Activity Watch last night, valid between 00:00 and 23:00 on the 31/08/04:

MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY WATCH
Issued: 19:35 UTC, 30 August 2004
Solar Terrestrial Dispatch
www.spacew.com


VALID BEGINNING AT: EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
VALID UNTIL: 23:00 UTC (7 pm EDT) ON 31 AUGUST

PREDICTED IMPACT TIME OF DISTURBANCE: IN-PROGRESS

HIGH RISK PERIOD: 30 - 31 AUGUST
MODERATE RISK PERIOD: 30 - 31 AUGUST

PREDICTED ACTIVITY INDICES: 25, 20, 12, 10 (30 - 31 AUGUST)

POTENTIAL MAGNITUDE OF MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY: MODERATE

POTENTIAL DURATION OF THIS ACTIVITY: MAIN BELT = 12 TO 18 HOURS
MINOR BELT = 18 TO 24 HOURS

ESTIMATED OPTIMUM OBSERVING CONDITIONS: NEAR LOCAL MIDNIGHT

EXPECTED LUNAR INTERFERENCE: MODERATE

OVERALL OPPORTUNITY FOR OBSERVATIONS FROM MIDDLE LATITUDES: POOR

AURORAL ACTIVITY *MAY* BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE
FROM...

SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA TO NORTHERN MONTANA TO SOUTH DAKOTA TO
NORTHERN MINNESOTA TO NORTHERN WISCONSIN TO NORTHERN MICHIGAN TO
SOUTHERN ONTARIO AND POSSIBLY EXTREME NORTHERN NEW YORK STATE AND
VERMONT/NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE TO MAINE.

ACTIVITY *MAY* ALSO BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...

EXTREME NORTHERN SCOTLAND TO CENTRAL NORWAY TO CENTRAL SWEDEN TO
FINLAND
TO NORTHERN RUSSIA.

ACTIVITY *MAY* ALSO BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY SOUTH OF A LINE FROM...

SOUTHERN NEW ZEALAND.


SYNOPSIS...

Solar wind enhancements following a transient solar disturbance
are becoming favorable for producing stronger levels of auroral
activity. Occasional enhancements toward the middle latitudes are
expected over the next 24 hours.

This watch will remain valid through 23:00 UTC (7 pm EDT) on
31 August. It will then be allowed to expire. For updated information,
visit: www.spacew.com/aurora/forum.html . For real-time plots of
current activity, visit: www.spacew.com/plots.html or
www.sec.noaa.gov .

PLEASE REPORT OBSERVATIONS OF AURORAL ACTIVITY TO:
www.spacew.com/submitsighting.html


** End of Watch **
_______________________________________________

So it would appear you weren't hallucinating, John, at least not this time!

phew! Thanks for that Paul . . . it makes up for falling into a ditch (and a bed of nettles) in the dark in that field

John

Very entertaining report there John Very nearly drove off the road into a ditch myself during last years aurora!

That photo looks quite impressionist. Don't forget you can use the self-timer if you forget the camera remote release.

Hi John,
Thats a very interesting observation.
I thought I was seeing things, but I also saw a faint green hue around 11 last nightnear the northern horison.
I also remember seeing the moon a few degrees above the horison and I though the sky around it looked like it had a hue of green about it, very strange.
Honestly, I could nearly see that the moon had a very, and I mean very faint hue of green about it, never seen anything like it before, wish I'd taken a pic of it, did anyone else see this or was I just tripping.... :lol:

I just had a look tonight at the moon, and its back to its normal white colour.

Hi Dave, John,
is a negative sighting any good? Lovely image John, wish I had seen that.I was out about that time but saw no aurora (too much light poloution to my north plus trees!) nor did I see Dave's green hue thought I did image the moon through my ETX90, sorry Dave I can't confirm it for you! Also, a nice conjunction of Saturn and Venus this morning visible from about 03.30 ish, worth a look!!!!!!
Regards,
Johnmc.