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The Aurora Borealis May Be Visible Tonight In The Northern US (cnn.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the northern-states-northern-lights dept.

An anonymous reader quotes CNN:A geomagnetic storm could bring a spectacular show to skies across the northern United States on Sunday night. The Aurora Borealis phenomenon -- also known as the Northern Lights -- may be visible "as low as New York to Wisconsin to Washington State," according to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center... NOAA said the best viewing times to catch the light show, clouds permitting, will be between 11 p.m. ET Sunday and 2 a.m. Monday, and again between 2 a.m. ET to 5 a.m.

42 comments

  1. CNN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anonymous sources said that the Northern Lights are a Russian conspiracy to make American patriots look at them while they are manipulating the voting booths to be used in 2018.

    Anonymous sources also said that if you disagree, you might be a pedophile and a rapist who is literally Hitler.

  2. It always is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Amazing that most Americans don't know about Alaska.

  3. Funny. by Rei · · Score: 2

    I'm in Iceland, yet won't be able to see it. In part because it's cloudy, but mainly because we don't get a real "night" at this time of the year. You'll have a better view of it in the states than up here by the Arctic Circle ;)

    --
    Nietzche: "I'm immortal because I'm all sin." Jesus: "I forgive you." (Bang!) -- Jesus Christ Supercop
    1. Re:Funny. by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      Saw a nice display a couple of weeks ago (at 52 degrees North). Have to wait until around 0100 for it to get reasonably dark. Of course, it's pouring rain right now. Boreal rain forests can be a trial sometimes.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:Funny. by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      And in Arizona right at the moment, it's rainy season.

  4. Odds are, this had to be coming by rmdingler · · Score: 2

    At last. .. been waiting for a strategic advantage to our geographic location.

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

  5. Byooful by FrankHaynes · · Score: 1

    Wul, the aurora borealis is real byooful tonight. If you're awake go see 'em. If you're not...then God bless ya. ::hic::

    --
    slashdot: A failed experiment.
  6. Not really expecting a good show by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    As per http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/space-weather-enthusiasts, the Kp index peaked several hours ago and is on the way down. The official forecast called for higher activity though 06 UTC, and then declining after that. The Kp index was higher several hours ago, so there was a good opportunity to see the Aurora Borealis in eastern Europe and parts of Asia. If we were going to get a good show in North America, it would be happening right now. But that's not happening, and based on the forecast, I doubt we'll see much in the USA.

  7. The Aurora Borealis? by Frank+Burly · · Score: 1

    At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?

    May I see it?

    1. Re: The Aurora Borealis? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?
      May I see it?

      No.

    2. Re: The Aurora Borealis? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      Betteridge?

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    3. Re:The Aurora Borealis? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      Posting to undo bad mod.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  8. Checking view from back yard... by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 1

    The good news: For once it's not cloudy when some interesting event is happening in the sky.

    The bad news: All I can see is the blue-white glow from the new ultra-bright LED lights they installed last year on the nearby highway. (A literally glaring example of Jevons Paradox.)

    1. Re: Checking view from back yard... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      thank you for this riveting report of your trailer park next to an interstate

  9. Sounds Porny? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can't wait. Whoa! Too late.

  10. Sad that people believe you can see them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lived in Seattle for the last thirty years and grew up in Houston, AK. I've never seen them or heard anyone I trust claim they have.

    1. Re: Sad that people believe you can see them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why do you believe so many people believe fake news? Most people are gullible.

    2. Re: Sad that people believe you can see them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Plus non-technical people just don't understand the photography tricks and postprocessing used to make it visible.

    3. Re: Sad that people believe you can see them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Went on an Alaskan cruise, and they claimed the lights were the best they had been in years. Didn't see shit.

    4. Re:Sad that people believe you can see them by mark-t · · Score: 1

      The laws of physics predict that such events will indeed be visible. The auroras, both northern and southern, are caused by charged particles striking the atmosphere while being guided by the earth's magnetic field. Each such charged particle coming from the sun energizes any atom that it strikes in our atmosphere, causing the electrons in it to be pushed further from the nucleus. As the electrons fall back to their "regular" state, the atom produces a photon of a particular frequency, which can be predicted based on the element that was struck. Most of the elemental composition of our atmosphere does produce visible light in response to such particles. The trick is for there to be enough such activity to make the photon intensity bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye, and this is a relatively rare occurrence. It's more common within a certain distance of one of the magnetic poles, but for most of the world, it is a very rare occurrence. If the solar activity is high enough, and this has happened in the recorded history, it can be seen as near to the equator as the tropics.

      I've lived in Canada my whole life, and I can count on my hands the number of times I have seen an aurora in my 5+ decades of existence. They are always something special to see, even when they are not spectacular.

      Oh, and as an aside... I'm not entirely sure how I should interpret the fact that it appears that an AC has decided to respond to most of my comments on any story with the same non-sequitur. Should I be flattered that somebody, however apparently unimaginative, has made what seems to be a deliberate effort to so closely follow my comments, or is there anything else I should do?

      --
      File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
    5. Re:Sad that people believe you can see them by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      I've seen them twice - two different nights, as we drove the Al-Can 30-odd years ago.

      The first time, I woke up to this weird multicolored glow shining through the top of our tent in far northern BC. It freaked me out at first, even knowing intellectually what it was... but they were amazing.

      A couple nights later we were in the southern Yukon, and there was a more tepid, mostly white display for maybe five minutes.

      I keep hoping I'll see them again, but so far I've had no luck (although the Skunk Bay weather cam recorded them a few days back). The Pacific Northwest is probably not the best place for Aurora watching.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    6. Re:Sad that people believe you can see them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck you, fish tits!!

  11. cue the religious fundies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    claiming its the second coming. Give generously to your pastor - you wont need it any more.

  12. It will be related to global warming somehow by Tangential · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Forget the Russians, by tomorrow there will be 'news' stories tying this to AGW somehow.

    --
    Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of congress. But then I repeat myself. -- Mark Twain
    1. Re:It will be related to global warming somehow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nah. That's just what Tucker Carlson wants you to think.

    2. Re:It will be related to global warming somehow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Forget the Russians, by tomorrow there will be 'news' stories tying this to AGW somehow.

      Come on, editors. You're supposed to control the trolls when they break the system by modding each other up.

  13. Is there a gap in the clock I didn't know about? by dbraden · · Score: 1

    "...the best viewing times to catch the light show, clouds permitting, will be between 11 p.m. ET Sunday and 2 a.m. Monday, and again between 2 a.m. ET to 5 a.m."

    Otherwise known as 11pm to 5am.

  14. Really? by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    Northern US, like let's say, Alaska?
    No shit, Sherlock

  15. Don't forget the rest of the Northern Hemisphere by Tomahawk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This isn't a US only phenomenon! Remember, guys, there's a "rest of the world" too!

    For the rest of us, this could be visible in:
    - Ireland
    - Most of the UK (Sorry London!)
    - Denmark, and the rest of the Scandinavian countries (darkness permitting)
    - The North of Netherlands, Germany, Poland, and Belarus
    - Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia
    - Across most of Russia as low as Moscow
    - Maybe even Northern Kazakhstan
    - All of Canada (darkness permitting)
    - As well as the North-Eastern half of the USA (From Oregon down to Kentucky, and over to Delaware).

  16. Re:Don't forget the rest of the Northern Hemispher by Mjlner · · Score: 1

    Finland is part of "rest of the world" too, you insensitive clod! (And a good place to see the Northern Lights, darkness permitting.)

    --
    Lemon curry???
  17. Re: Ghost of Vince Foster by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You forgot to cite anonymous sources.. Now you're getting sued for slander.

  18. Only viewable in Springfield by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Localised within Principal Skinner's kitchen.

    Sorry, you can't see it.

  19. Not quite... by dfm3 · · Score: 3, Informative

    The aurora are not always visible all around the globe at the same latitude; they often appear brighter in one hemisphere and not the other at a given time. There's a good visualization here: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/produ...

    So, it could very well be that Fairbanks could get a very good show one night (assuming it's not mid summer and it's dark enough) while Iceland might not see anything, even though they are both roughly at the same latitude.

    Also, the aurora typically aren't as intense right at the poles, but are often most intense at less extreme latitudes around 60 degrees. So it's not unheard of for the aurora to be very impressive in Alberta, while not even being visible in the north part of the Yukon.

  20. No luck by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1
    Took out the camera and headed off to some of the overlooks in the mountains near me. No luck, as it was cloudy to the north, and a little hazy as well. Directly overhead was nice and clear.

    Chatted with a couple guys who were out trying to see the lights as well. Drove on through the woods Found a man and woman at a south looking overlook, standing outside a pickup truck. I slowed down to tell them they were looking the wrong way, but they weren't interested in talking, or her even looking. Drove a little farther and saw why. Her car was parked a little further up the road. I had stumbled upon an affair. Oops! Never know what you are going to see in the mountains at midnight.

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  21. No luck in New Hampshire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Took the family up the White Mountains and was there from 10 pm to midnight. No luck. Checked NOAA and the magnetic storm had ended by 10 pm EST with a 10% chance of visibility if you could see 1000 miles north. It was too bright before 9 pm to see it anyway, so narrow window, low probability. Did anyone in the US get to see it?

  22. Bah, humbug... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cloudy as shit. Just like any meteor shower peak.

  23. So between what times? :O by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "will be between 11 p.m. ET Sunday and 2 a.m. Monday, and again between 2 a.m. ET to 5 a.m."

    So... between 11pm and 5am?

    Or am I missing something?

  24. AR2665 by p51d007 · · Score: 1

    Came from sunspot 2665, which is just about to move out of the earth facing part of the sun. Fired off a small M class flare Thursday? Hit Sunday. The 10 meter ham band was hoping pretty good Sunday.

  25. Re:Don't forget the rest of the Northern Hemispher by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Naturally! So let me re-write the headline to what it should have been:
    North America has the most clearest view & cloudless night to see the upcoming northern lights. Other lands' weather more overcast, sorry.

  26. Re: Don't forget the rest of the Northern Hemisphe by Tomahawk · · Score: 1

    Yes, yes I am. I hang my head in shame. I mistakenly mentally included Finland as Scandinavia!! I cannot apologise enough...