Northern lights map for Friday night

We mostly saw the greens and a little of the purple that my Wife was Hoping for, we also didn’t see any pulsating either, sure didn’t get the vivid reds some of you saw

The long exposure with a phone or camera really enhances the color you do get, but you need either a very steady hand, or a tripod. I have seen small tripods for phones, for taking selfies mainly, that would really help, but having something to brace your hand against really helps as well. For my main mountain ⛰️ pics, I was bracing against the window frame of my Jeep, the pics of the mountain sloping down to the right were freehand, with the phone showing a 3-4 second exposure

The Wife has been wanting to see the Northern Lights for years, a Good Friend of mine lived in Alaska for many years, he said that the Best time to see them there is typically in February.

February in Alaska, with gear and transportation to see the Northern Lights Comfortably and Safely, sounds like something you do after a very substantial Lottery Win, so we probably won’t be doing that anytime soon. But with my Wife’s health issues after Covid, we can’t put it off too many years, but she can’t take her oxygen tanks on a commercial airplane. After 2.5 years the insurance company Finally approved a portable oxygen concentrator, which is airline approved, but the single standard battery it comes with has a very short battery life at the flow rate she needs, she gets “Range Anxiety “ worse than an Electric Vehicle driver, and the extra batteries are stupidly expensive, and she won’t justify the cost, even if I feel it’s worthwhile for the increased quality of Life they would give her. She just insists on making do with what we have, just the way she is, and trying to convince her otherwise sometimes, just causes more problems than it solves


Doug

 

I get emails from Travelocity pretty regularly and every once in a while I check on flights to Alaska. Do some checking, it might not be as bad as you think. Wife and I went 3-4 years ago on a spur of the moment trip for my birthday around Labor Day. If I recall correctly it was around $1600 per person round trip out of Denver and included a rental car for the 4 days we were there.
as for the oxygen situation I can’t provide any input other than from Seattle to Fairbanks is probably only 2 hours.
The sun is coming up on the peak of its 12 year cycle so 2024 is likely to be a good year for auroras. I’ve been toying with the idea of taking a whirlwind trip up to Alaska in November for the wife’s birthday this year.

the Aurora borealis fascinate me, one of nature’s best exhibits and is often beheld simply by luck.

 

AURORA VIEWLINE FOR TONIGHT AND TOMORROW NIGHT

 

Looks like we will have a better view of it than last night. I am going to see if campinspecter wants to go somewhere rather dark tonight so we can both see them.

 

Northern CT Friday night.

 

Not much at all last night

 

Was to overcast and raining here.

 

Same here. Not raining but the fog cover moved in so there was nothing to see.

 

That’s beautiful

 

AURORA FORECAST
ACTIVITY LEVELMedium

Aurora Activity Level 6/10
Aurora borealis activity is currently moderate to elevated. Weather permitting, good northern lights displays could be visible directly overhead in most northern communities.

3-Day Forecast
(May 13 to May 15) The geomagnetic field is expected to be at unsettled to severe storm levels on May 14 (13 May), quiet to minor storm levels on May 15 (14 May) and quiet to active levels on May 16 (15 May). Protons greater than 10 Mev are likely to cross threshold on days one and two (13 May, 14 May).

May 13
INTENSE
AURORA
Active aurora possible with slight chance of isolated minor auroral substorms and favourable conditions for major aurora activity.

May 14
ELEVATED
AURORA
Active aurora possible with good chance of isolated minor auroral substorms and favourable conditions for major aurora activity.

May 15
ACTIVE
AURORA
Active aurora possible with good chance of isolated minor auroral substorms and favourable conditions for major aurora activity.

 

Did you miss the FOMO-inducing aurora borealis over the weekend? No need to wish upon a star.

Astro enthusiasts have one final shot to see this cosmic fireworks display from certain regions across the US and Canada.

While the northern lights have begun to wane, this magnetic marvel will still be available in the Northernmost parts of the US as well as Canada, per a forecast map by NOAA. The US regions encompass Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and New York.

 

Oh wow, tonight too? (Maybe....)

Friday night in Southern Va:




Like others stated, didn’t see near those colors with naked eye. Took a pic just for chits and giggles, and was like "Aw chit!" Never thought I'd see those from home. Maybe we'll look tonight just in case....

 

My neighbors up at the top of the hill got some good pictures. We were able to see a little but our view to the north is limited. I have never seen the northern lights this far south. Beautiful pictures everyone, what an amazing event!