[waterfall]

Solar storm today ranked 4 on 5 point scale by NOAA and Alaska Aurora website, with 50% chance of visible aurora tonight as far south as Madison, WI. Same 50% chance here at 47 degrees N latitude. New moon tonight as well. If it happens, the display will be low on the northern horizon so I must find a vantage point on the south shore of Leech Lake, Minnesota for any chance to see over the forest. Those along the south shore of Lake Superior will have better CONUS viewing chances.

[donpjt]

no hope of seeing an aurora in houston ..

[jpzk]

Solar storm today ranked 4 on 5 point scale by NOAA and Alaska Aurora website, with 50% chance of visible aurora tonight as far south as Madison, WI. Same 50% chance here at 47 degrees N latitude. New moon tonight as well. If it happens, the display will be low on the northern horizon so I must find a vantage point on the south shore of Leech Lake, Minnesota for any chance to see over the forest. Those along the south shore of Lake Superior will have better CONUS viewing chances.

Thanks for the heads up!
We are getting our yearly St Patrick's Day snow storm here !!

JP

[reeftool]

Might be visible here tonight if the skies clear enough. The weather has been improving but it's awfully windy and the temps are dropping. It won't be a nice night for looking at the sky even if it clears.

[c.a.m]

Thanks for the heads-up. Forecast here is mainly clear skies and high probability of aurora.

[csa]

Completely overcast here, dang!

[Sagitta]

I managed to sneak out and try to get some shots in. Between the 20 degree temps and the insane winds, I only had one keeper. The storm was a bit too low to get any banding either, but the keeper was worth it I think.

[reeftool]

We had a bit of green glow on the horizon visible but the wind and cold kind of got to me quickly. One of our local guys posted a shot of Facebook with a long exposure that picked up some light I didn't see from my yard a few miles away. I also was going in and out and the aurora was kind of brief so I may have just missed it..

https://www.facebook.com/NaturePhotographyWorkshops

[Sagitta]

Here's a question for those more in the know than I am. Is it possible to see aurora (or some other storm-related effect) in the daytime?

I was at work when I noticed a strange red-green hue to the clouds. I've shot LOTS of sunsets, so for me to look out the window and go "What on earth am I seeing?" is kind of notable.

I snapped a few shots (this one I'm sharing is the best of the lot to get an idea), then forgot about it. Especially when I went on a failed aurora chase last night. It wasn't until I was going through the images taken off the camera that it clicked that I'm seeing the same color patterns northern lights throw, only (apparently) being thrown from the setting sun.

FWIW, weather conditions yesterday was very light snow all day up until just before this shot was taken, when the skies started clearing, temps plummeted, and the wind began to howl.

This photo doesn't do the colors I was seeing justice - the reds and greens in the clouds almost seemed to move. It wasn't until this morning that I made the mental connection between them and the aurora that night.

I purposely boosted the colors and dropped the shadows to try to make the colors pop a bit more. They were very delicate and faint.

EDIT: Obviously this was shooting towards the west as well, so wasn't north as one would expect from the aurora either.

[DeadJohn]

...Is it possible to see aurora (or some other storm-related effect) in the daytime?...

No, you cannot see aurora in the daytime. At least not ordinary ones. If the sun ever kicks enough material at us to see aurora during the day satellites and the power grid would be fried. The spot of color in your photo is a reflection/refraction effect from the sun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_optics.

I saw a neat effect like that last winter while in New Orleans. It was barely visible until I used a building to hide the sun:

[jbinpg]

This is called irisation, a refraction of light through a mix of supercooled liquid water droplets and ice crystals. The clouds that have this combination are most often found in the mid levels, often in altocumulus clouds such as seen here. This also occurs with moonlight shining through clouds.

[arkav]

Here's a question for those more in the know than I am. Is it possible to see aurora (or some other storm-related effect) in the daytime?

I doubt that you'd be able to see them in full daylight, or even when the sun is as high in the sky as it is in your photo. But around twilight it could be possible. Once, while I was travelling in Western Newfoundland, I was hurrying to set up my tent before it got completely dark. I think the sun had already set, but the sky was still fairly bright. I noticed a band of strange looking 'dancing' light across the darkening sky and thought "weird ... almost looks like aurora". Once it got completely dark, we were treated to the most spectacular display I'd ever seen, covering the whole sky. I think that was in August, 1991. The only camera I had with me was an old rangefinder I had borrowed for the trip. No tripod, no wide angle lense, and no idea of how to shoot aurora, so I didn't even try.

So it's possible to see them while the sky is not 100% dark, but if you do, you won't be in much doubt of what you're seeing, because they'll be very bright once it does get 100% dark.

Back in November 2005, I went to Toronto for the weekend and didn't take my camera since I had a busy itinerary and didn't think I'd have any opportunities to do any shooting. When I left to return to Ottawa, it was already dark. Driving down the 401 ( major highway through the city ), I noticed what looked like aurora in the Northern sky in spite of the fact that I was surrounded by all kinds of light pollution. Once I got outside the city, I kicked myself for not having my camera. It was hands down the most spectacular display I'd ever seen in Ontario. I took the more rural highways to get home, and stopped repeatedly during the ~4.5 hr drive to admire the display, thinking that it would no doubt be finished long before I got home.

As it turned out, it was still going on when I got home though it was somewhat diminished. I still had time to run into the house, grab my MX + tripod and drive out of the city to a rural area with less light pollution before the display died away completely.

Here's a crappy scan of one of the shots:

[c.a.m]

This is my first decent capture during winter 2014/15 here in Ottawa. While the sky was not ablaze with activity, I thought we were lucky to have clear skies, no moon, and some colour and banding. I drove to a location to the west of Ottawa to avoid the city lights.

Thanks again to member waterfall for the heads-up of the geomagnetic activity.

- Craig


K52_9399_Aurora at Pinheys Point by c.a.m_1, on Flickr