Storm to the south tonight

Skywatcher · Unread post by **Skywatcher** » Wed 24/08/2005 22:56

OK, a bit misleading

It was an auroral storm which I could clearly see from Templeton.

It's now foggy and not too long until moonrise so that's probably it for tonight

Might be worth a look tomorrow night.

Here's a photo from the garden - not a great view with trying to avoid the street lights.

NZ Thunderstorm Soc · Wed 24/08/2005 23:27

EXCELLENT shot there Steven.
Makes up for a boring day here
What time was the photo taken?

JohnGaul
NZTS

Skywatcher · Unread post by **Skywatcher** » Thu 25/08/2005 07:23

That photo was taken just before 10pm. There were rays almost reaching the Southern Cross while I was trying to find a better location to take a pic

tich · Unread post by **tich** » Thu 25/08/2005 10:20

Damn I missed it.

I wonder if it'll be visible again tonight - let's hope today's cloud clears by then.

Gary Roberts · Unread post by **Gary Roberts** » Thu 25/08/2005 17:29

tich wrote:Damn I missed it. I wonder if it'll be visible again tonight - let's hope today's cloud clears by then.

It was a ripper! Very bright, but lacking detail...still, not complaining, it was awesome stuff.

NZstorm · Unread post by **NZstorm** » Thu 25/08/2005 18:48

Yes, a nice looking Aurora there. Pity you couldn't get into a more open area, photo is still excellent though. I would love to get some pics of an Aurora myself. No chance of seeing one in Auckland but I did observe Aurora when I lived in Otago.

GraemeWi · Unread post by **GraemeWi** » Thu 25/08/2005 18:57

NZstorm wrote:Yes, a nice looking Aurora there. Pity you couldn't get into a more open area, photo is still excellent though. I would love to get some pics of an Aurora myself. No chance of seeing one in Auckland but I did observe Aurora when I lived in Otago.

I've seen it twice from Auckland - just need to get away from the streetlights!

Cheers,

G

Gary Roberts · Unread post by **Gary Roberts** » Thu 25/08/2005 19:16

GraemeWi wrote:I've seen it twice from Auckland - just need to get away from the streetlights!

Cheers,

G

I think there was a good reddish display visible on Auckland's southern horizon back in 2000.

Skywatcher · Unread post by **Skywatcher** » Thu 25/08/2005 19:19

NZstorm wrote:Yes, a nice looking Aurora there. Pity you couldn't get into a more open area

It was a bit unexpected so I wasn't ready to drive out to a darker site with a clear horizon.

The photo below was taken after driving 40km to a beach near Rakaia Huts at about midnight on 17th January just after moonset.

A couple of pages to watch are:

http://www.sec.noaa.gov/rt_plots/kp_3d.html We need a Kp of 7 or more to see an aurora in NZ.

http://www.spacew.com/ Check the numbers above the two plots especially when their backgrounds turn red. High velocity and density numbers are good but you also want a big Bt and a big negative Bz.

Obviously you need it to be night and the sky clear and little or no moonlight and close to "local" midnight ......