Aurora's afgelopen weekend; nieuwe zonnewind afkomstig van coronaal gat onderweg

Yesterday, Sept. 25th, Earth passed through a fold in the heliospheric current sheet. The crossing sparked a G1-class geomagnetic storm and bright auroras around the Arctic Circle. Christian Schartner was on an airplane flying from Munich to Iceland when the window filled with an explosion of color:

photo Christian Schartner 

What a fantastic start to our Iceland trip!" says Schartner.

Many people have never heard of the heliospheric current sheet. It is one of the biggest things in the solar system--a vast undulating system of electrical currents shaped like the skirt of a ballerina. Earth dips in and out of it all the time. On Sept. 25th, Earth found itself on the side of the current sheet containing negative-polarity magnetic fields. Such fields can open a crack in our planet's magnetosphere, allowing solar wind to pour in and fuel colorful displays like Schartner witnessed.

"Shooting the aurora from inside an airplane was not easy--especially without a tripod," says Schartner. "Thanks to modern technology, I was able to capture it with a fast lens and very high ISO setting." 

Een nieuwe lading zonnedeeltjes is onderweg:

 A vast "coronal hole" has opened up in the sun's atmosphere, and it is spewing solar wind into space. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is monitoring the structure as it turns toward Earth:

Coronal holes are regions in the sun's atmosphere where the magnetic field peels back and allows solar wind to escape. Today's coronal hole is a big one, and the emerging solar wind stream is broad. It is very unlikely to miss Earth when it arrives on Sept. 28-29. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras later this week. 
Bron: http://www.spaceweather.com/  | Gewijzigd: 31 januari 2017, 15:37 uur, door Joyce.s

Vandaag hoogtepunt geomagnetische storm, afkomstig van het coronale gat

Snelheden vandaag tot 700 km/s

As predicted, a high-speed stream of solar wind is buffeting Earth's magnetic field. Since it arrived on Sept. 27th, the stream has sparked G1- and G2-class geomagnetic storms and bright auroras around the Arctic Circle.  NOAA forecasters say the storms could intensify on Sept. 28th as the stream reaches peak speeds in excess of 700 km/s. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras. 

Last night, when the lights started to dance over southern Iceland, "I grabbed my violin to fiddle for Lady Aurora," reports Olivier Staiger from the Mid-Hvoll Cottages between Skogafoss and Vik:

photo  Olivier Staiger

"This was in the late evening... and still going on this Wednesday morning as I write," he says.
Bron: http://www.spaceweather.com/ 



http://services.swpc.noaa.gov/images/planetary-k-index.gif 

  | Gewijzigd: 31 januari 2017, 15:37 uur, door Joyce.s

Surfing the heliospheric current sheet:

Yesterday, Oct. 10th, Earth passed through a fold in the heliospheric current sheet.  The crossing sparked bright auroras around the Arctic Circle.  "The lights were fantastic," reports Helge Mortensen, who photographed the display over Kattfjordvannet, Norway:

photo Helge Mortensen

This little pond had a thin layer of ice," he points out. "I guess winter is getting closer."

Many people have never heard of the heliospheric current sheet. It is one of the biggest things in the solar system--a vast undulating system of electrical currents shaped like the skirt of a ballerina: picture. Earth dips in and out of it all the time.
Bron: http://www.spaceweather.com/ | Gewijzigd: 31 januari 2017, 15:38 uur, door Joyce.s

What do you get when you mix auroras with moonlight? 

Some photographers say that bright moonlight is a real nuisance when you are trying to record faint auroras. Jim Schnortz of Grand Portage, MN, disagrees. In fact, he says, "it's an awesome combination." He photographed the mixture during a geomagnetic storm on Oct 13th:

photo Jim Schnortz 

Moonlight not only lit up the landscape, providing a beautiful foreground for the auroras overhead, but also produced a lovely moonbow (lunar rainbow) in the spray of the falls.

Schnortz's photo settings are noted here. Write them down! Auroras and moonlight may be mixing again tonight as Earth enters a high-speed stream of solar wind. NOAA forecasters say there is a 30% chance of G1-class geomagnetic storms on Oct. 16th--the same type of storm underway in the photo above.
Bron: http://www.spaceweather.com/  | Gewijzigd: 31 januari 2017, 15:39 uur, door Joyce.s

The nitrogen fringe:

A high-speed solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field on Oct. 16th, sparking in intense display of auroras over the northern reaches of Scandinavia.  During the luminous outburst, an online aurora camera in Sweden's Abisko National Park recorded a lovely ribbon of pink rippling across the chilly night sky:

Chad Blakley

This is the "nitrogen fringe." Most auroras are green--a verdant glow caused by energetic particles from space hitting oxygen atoms 100 km to 300 km above Earth's surface. Seldom-seen pink appears when the energetic particles descend lower than usual, striking nitrogen molecules at the 100 km level and below. 


"It was an incredible display of fast-moving pink auroras," says Chad Blakley, whose tour guide company Lights over Lapland operates the webcam.

Earth is still inside the solar wind stream that created this display, and the increased pressure of solar wind on our planet's magnetic field could spark more polar auroras on Oct. 18th. Arctic sky watchers should remain alert for the nitrogen fringe.
Bron: http://www.spaceweather.com/  | Gewijzigd: 31 januari 2017, 15:42 uur, door Joyce.s

Is er ook kans op (fotografisch) poollicht in Nederland of is de timing en/of het weer daar niet goed voor?

Citaat van Lako, maandag 24 oktober 2016, 22:19 uur Is er ook kans op (fotografisch) poollicht in Nederland of is de timing en/of het weer daar niet goed voor?Dit is een link van de huidige toestand van Aurora's:
https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/auroral-activity/auroral-oval
Hierbij wordt uitgegaan van een heldere, niet lichtvervuilde lucht, je moet zelf dus ook de wolkenbedekking controleren en ervoor zorgen dat je ver weg van grote lichtbronnen bent, bijvoorbeeld grote steden, industrie ect... (Verder is de kans op Aurora's in Nederland vaak erg klein, de wadden bieden nog de beste kans.)

Crazy pink aurora´s

During the ongoing solar wind storm, observers around the Arctic Circle have been reporting auroras of an unusual color. "Crazy pink," says Frank Meissner, who took this picture from Tromsø, Norway, on Oct. 26th: 


"It was awesome," he says. "Flash-like bursts were zooming all over the sky."

Also watching from Tromsø, veteran observer Terence Murtagh says "even with many hundreds of aurora sightings under my belt, I've never witnessed such distinct pink colors clearly visible and bright to the naked eye. They were almost too bright to photograph properly."


The pink color is probably a sign of nitrogen. Most auroras are green--a verdant glow caused by energetic particles from space hitting oxygen atoms 100 km to 300 km above Earth's surface. Seldom-seen pink appears when the energetic particles descend lower than usual, striking nitrogen molecules at the 100 km level and below.
Bron: http://www.spaceweather.com/ 

Aurora outburst

Earth is exiting a stream of solar wind.  As a result, auroras were supposed to subside on Nov. 1st. Instead, the sky over Iceland exploded.  "The Northern Lights came fast and furious," reports Olivier Staiger, who took this picture from the Laxa hotel near Lake Myvatn:

photo Olivier Staiger

What happened?  Earth passed through a region of space filled with negative polarity (south pointing) magnetic fields.  These fields opened a crack in Earth's magnetosphere. Solar wind poured in to fuel the sudden display. 

Auroras are supposed to subside even more on Nov. 2nd.  Stay tuned for the unexpected. 
Bron: http://www.spaceweather.com/  | Gewijzigd: 31 januari 2017, 15:44 uur, door Joyce.s