May 11, 2024

Another Big Aurora Tonight

The aurora was absolutely stunning last night over the entire region, in fact, most of the U.S.

I was with friends on the top of the kite hill of Magnuson Park, where it is dark and the view unimpeded.

By 11 PM the sky was ablaze with shimmering curtains and lines of color, mainly green and red.

Picture taken by Bud Featherly in the Okanogan Valley of Washington State.. 

It is a moving and emotional experience.

A NASA polar orbiting satellite (VIIRS) could view the aurora from space, as shown below by the white band.

And here is its view of the auroral over us.


If you missed the aurora last night, you have a second chance tonight, although I suspect it will be less impressive.  

The Kp index, a critical measure of the disturbance of the Earth's magnetic field, is still very high (see below)


And the latest NOAA aurora forecast map (below) suggests the aurora should be visible over much of Washington State.


Sky conditions?    As shown below, clear over much of the state.


I will be out there tonight! Remember, it will not be dark enough until about 10:15 PM.



9 comments:

  1. quite intense here last night in SE Alaska - never saw it where the entire sky was ablaze with auroral light before (no matter where you looked)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Do you think it is still happening, I missed seeing it last night ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're all the same. I want it to happen tonight.

      Delete
  3. Cliff, I see the wind kicking up at 8:45 pm Saturday. Might it be better to go into the mountains tonight? I'm worried that the marine push may fog us out near the water just when the show gets good.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You are correct, as usual. Yesterday evening, my son got a good shot of those lights, from our front yard in Everett...tonight, the lights were mediocre.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I checked at 11:00, 1:30 and 3:00 and didn't see it from Olympia.

    ReplyDelete
  6. All... unfortunately the geomagnetic disturbance weakened rapidly last night. Still relatively low. Solar prediction is not as good as weather prediction!..cliff

    ReplyDelete
  7. I enjoyed the time-lapse video on a site you've recommended, Skunk Bay Weather, but now there's a message, "This Account has been suspended." Do you know what happened?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They got so many hits the web provider shut it down, asking for more money

      Delete

Please make sure your comments are civil. Name calling and personal attacks are not appropriate.

A Major Cyclone Will Approach Our Coast But Not a Repeat of November 19

A very strong, rapidly developing, midlatitude cyclone will approach the Northwest coast on Friday and move through on Saturday. Fortunately...