[willskywalker93]

Guys I just saw the news of the solar storm that's coming tomorrow. I'm pretty jealous of those of you further north that will get to see it, as Auroras don't tend to make it down to Mississippi.

Take some epic pictures, please!! 😃

[jimr-pdx]

We shall be watching with interest from our new yard in SW Washington, part of which has a fine view to the NE. Aurorae are uncommon here but more likely than for you

Bye now, must go practice the o-gps1 routines!

[willskywalker93]

I look forward to your pics! And enjoy that GPS.

[reeftool]

Our weather forecast is for clear skies tonight. There have been several occasions in the past couple of years when the northern lights were seen in some of the northeast but our area was cloud covered. Perhaps tonight we'll get lucky.

[willskywalker93]

I wish you luck, reeftool. Auroras are on my bucket list.

[RoxnDox]

Did not see anything from our house last night, but we've got trees all around so can't see to the horizon... I may go out tonight and hit one of the local beaches with a view to the North.

Jim

[MD Optofonik]

About 15 years ago I was in North Dakota for work and had the chance to see the aurora borealis: it was mesmerizing. I stood outside at midnight in the November cold looking up, slowly turning around and around and around, like a little kid, to make sure I didn't miss anything. It could very well be the first time, as an adult, that I experienced genuine awe. I felt a real sense of the earth being a part of a larger, mysterious, universe.

[Biro]

I was living in Orlando, Florida, in the 1980s and there was a strange shimming red glow in the sky one night. Yup, it was the Aurora. A rare sight in those parts, indeed. For those who love "DXing" - the practice of tuning in distant stations on the AM broadcast band at night - tonight might be great night. During Auroral conditions, reception of stations to the north tend to be markedly reduced while reception of stations from the south tend to be greatly enhanced. It could be interesting.

Also, the solar storms that we're getting today and tomorrow are considered moderate. Storms in 1958, 1989 and 2003 caused outages in a number of North American power grids. The strongest such storm on record occurred in 1859, electrifying telegraph lines, shocking operators and starting fires in papers on their desks. Check it out on NASA’s website:

A Super Solar Flare - NASA Science

[MD Optofonik]

H

I was living in Orlando, Florida, in the 1980s

Hey Biro, do any of these words or phrases mean anything to you?

Faith In Physics

Beach Club Cafe

Barbarella's

Visage

Spacefish

The Edge

Ahhzz

WWIII

Naomi's Hair

Love Gods In Leisure Suits

Braille Closet

Murmur Records

[Biro]

The Beach Club Café, yes. Was "Faith in Physics" in Cassadega?

[MD Optofonik]

The Beach Club Café, yes. Was "Faith in Physics" in Cassadega?

Faith was on South OBT, in a rather seedy area. John Gardner moved Faith to Downtown and renamed it "Beach Club Cafe" then, "Barbarella's", then again to "The Independent" which it remains to this day. Faith, along with John spearheaded the post-punk boho scene in Orlando; he even gave Kimball Collins one of his early pre "Superstar DJ" gigs at Faith.

I have many fond memories of Downtown Orlando and that time in it's history; even got all politically active at one point when City Hall wanted to close down some of the businesses that catered to my "weirdo" friends and I (we won thanks to the ACLU). The Mayor thought we were scaring away the tourists from Downtown. Of course Downtown had been a ghost town for years before we came along. Good times.

Small world.

[Undot]

Oh my, I've read just too many doomsday novels involving solar flares! Is this gonna be the one to wipe out all electronics (again)? I read something about two flares being on their way, possibly connecting to a solar hurricane.
The analog film guys are gonna have a blast! Err... or the digital ones will, depending on definition.

(I didn't see one aurora on my visit to Iceland. Such a shame. )

[reeftool]

It was cloudy most of yesterday but it did clear up for a while last night around 9-10 PM but no aurora visible. The clouds began moving in again around 10:30. I went back out a few times and checked but conditions were getting worse so I went to bed.

Solar flares can cause electrical damage but it's pretty rare, considering they happen often. Most of the talk is internet BS, like all the other hysteria that makes headlines on a daily basis. In years past, seeing the aurora here in the northeast was purely chance although NASA and NOAA have always monitored solar flares. Nobody ever paid much attention and auroras were talked about after they happened. When I worked night shifts and drove home in the wee morning hours, I would see them on occasion but there was never a forecast it might happen. For whatever reason, the media has now jumped on the solar flare forecast and makes a big deal out of everything.[COLOR="Silver"

[Sagitta]

I stayed up until 11 and saw nothing from my location, so went to bed. They say it could carry over for tonight as well though, so all is not quite lost unless these clouds stay with us tonight.

Last aurora I saw in these parts was back in August of 2011.

[Undot]

Solar flares can cause electrical damage but it's pretty rare, considering they happen often. Most of the talk is internet BS, like all the other hysteria that makes headlines on a daily basis.

Don't get me wrong, this was more meant as a jest. I didn't know (US) media is full of it.

But I do like "what ifs", hence me reading such fictional books. Still, a solar storm like the one of 1859, which has a 12% chance of happening within the next 10 years, could wreak havoc to our society as we thoroughly rely on technology to work but haven't got it shielded. Back then it was just some telegraphs sparking, today it could cut all supply lines.

But sorry for swaying off topic. As the OP intended, the main interest is to capture those beautiful pictures it paints into the northern skies. And I'm jealous I won't get to see it.