[SOC] Solar storm

[JMcAulay]

At 06:51 PM 11/05/2003 -0800, Bob Nielsen wrote:
>On Thu, Nov 06, 2003 at 12:09:03AM -0000, Paul Bartlett wrote:
>> Gentlemen (and ladies too but there seem to be precious few on these lists
>> sadly)
>> 
>> Please forgive the expletive/obscenity but I've just been outside to
look at
>> the sky. We're experiencing the greatest solar
>> prominence/storm/ejection/whatever since records began and here in
>> Gloucestershire, England there's a bright moon and it's f**cking cloudy.
>> 
>> It's a 'once in a lifetime' opportunity to see aurorae in these latitudes
>> and I'm missing it.
>> 
>> I am severely pissed off.
>
>Me too.  
>
>When I lived at 32 deg N, it was nearly always clear, but there never
>was any aurora to see that far south (I could see Halley's comet almost
>nightly several years ago).  When I moved to 47.6 deg N, I thought I
>would have lots of opportunities, but whenever it is clear there isn't
>anything to see either and when there is, it's cloudy.  It's clear this
>evening and I'm still hoping....


In past times when I lived at about 35 deg N, seeing the aurora was rare
(even at 80 deg W, a lot closer to the mag pole than G-land is).  And until
last Wednesday (29 October), it had been many years since seeing it.

But flying from Las Vegas to Raleigh offered the opportunity to see it
quite nicely (about two-thirds through the trip on a 737), even with my
vision contaminated by the wing light.  Wish I knew what our position was
at the time.  No colors, but a broad shimmering of close-packed vertical
bright lines of irregular height extended to perhaps two degrees above the
northern horizon.  'Twas visible for several minutes.

Regards,
John