Northern Lights in London: tell me it's true

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kilkerr1

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Northern Lights in London: tell me it\'s true

"The billowing cloud of material is likely to arrive on Wednesday and if conditions are favourable, the aurora borealis will be extremely bright and visible everywhere in the UK, even in city areas such as London!"

So say metcheck re. the latest sun spot craziness. <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.metcheck.com/astronomy.asp>No more cruises to Norway then</A> (sorry, get ever so excited about these fings...).

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://kilkerr.members.easyspace.com/santateresa_pics.htm>Santa Teresa and other t'ings</A>
 
Re: Northern Lights in London: tell me it\'s true

It's going to depend on a bunch of variables, which the scientists cannot accurately predict.

If the flare hits the earths magnetic field going 'Northerly' it will ride up and over. Just a glancing blow, and Northern Scotland, Norway, Canada, Iceland etc will get a pretty good display

If it hits 'Southerly' and it's own accompanying magnetic fields punch a hole in the Earths magnetic field, then the display, could well be the Mother of Northern Light displays, and may well be see as far south as the Med.

Light pollution in London is not going to make it a clear display like you'd get in the North of Scotland, but may well be visible

The other factor is what time it hits, and for how long, again still uncertain. If it peaks in darkness hours, that would obviously be most favourable.

Do a google search for 'solar flare'. Instead of the usual internet search though, hit the 'News' tab. Then go to top right and click on 'sort by date' or you'll be reading reports on last weekends flares, and you'll see the most recent predictions as they come in. I don't expect they'll have much more accuracy in forecasting until later Wed morning

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Re: Northern Lights in London: tell me it\'s true

Does anyone know how to photograph it

Should you open the appature right out or close it and keep the shutter open.

Seriously now, I would like to get some piccies here, and this might be a once in a lifetime chance. Wish I was going down to the boat, would love some shots over the boats if it does happen.

<hr width=100% size=1>Julian

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.topcatsail.co.uk/TC_IrishCruise_2003_00.html>Irish Cruise</A>
 
Re: Northern Lights in London: tell me it\'s true

"...get excited about these things" So do I, and looking forward to this one and of course the weather has closed in.....

However, although Northern Lights are not commonly seen on the S Coast, travelling home regularly late evenings in the winter across the South Downs behind Chichester/Portsmouth, I quite often see an auroral glow. Usually it is a bluish white, sometimes slightly green, but one night a couple of years ago it was an incredible crimson colour.

I remember very well in the 70s spending a night on the Dee Estuary, with an incredinly bright glow in the northern sky which was far brighter than the nearly full moon, somthat at 2 in the morning it was light enough to read by in the cockpit. I also have childhood memories of a very powerful display in Pembrokeshire back in the mid 50s which extended right round even to the southern sky, of what seemed like huge ghostly searchlight beams reaching almost to the Zenith. One of the rare occasions as an 8/10 year old when i was allowed to stay up well past midnight to see it.

Light pollution nowadays is such that finding a sky dark enough to observe the aurorae is increasingly difficult. It needs a completely dark horizon to see the faint glow that is surprisingly common even on the Channel coast.

But dont apologise - it IS exciting!

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Re: Magnetometer site just gopne off the scale....

After posting the above, I checked the Aurora watch site, which has an online magnetometer, which went off the scale a couple of hours ago. (Magnetometer measures the variations caused by solar discharges).

Check :WWW.dcs.lancs.ac.uk/iono/aurorawatch

Has instructions for building your own magnetometer too - very Blue Peterish but effective!

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Re: Northern Lights in London: tell me it\'s true

It's already causing displays in California apparently, but the strength of the storm has been downgraded overnight, so maybe not as spectacular as initial reports

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Don\'t you know....

...that whenever we get some form of Celestial Phenomenon rain and cloud (which is our lot in the Uk usually - why did I need to say that?) will deprive us of it. Even when Mars was at it's very nearest, overcast skies prevented us viewing it for a few days.

Steve Cronin

<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion
 
Re: Don\'t you know....

Yup: it's p***ing down here in Brighton (tho' we may be a bit far South to see the stuff anyway) and therefore totally overcast.

Hrrumph. And again hrrumph.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://kilkerr.members.easyspace.com/santateresa_pics.htm>Santa Teresa and other t'ings</A>
 
Re: Northern Lights in London: tell me it\'s true

Found Boating is <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.powerboat-training.co.uk>Serious Fun
 
Re: Northern Lights in London: tell me it\'s true

Do you have a tripod, and some sort of digital camera?

The digital camera can be used as a sort of exposure meter, whether or not it is good enough for the actual shots.

Stick it on the tripod, set about f8, and then try a sequence of shots 1,2,4,8,16...secs to determine what is best for getting what you want from the piccy. If things get too long, then you can still open up from f8.

(Same trick to use for fireworks.... :-))

<hr width=100% size=1>Black Sugar - the sweetest of all
 
Re: Northern Lights in London: tell me it\'s true

On a journey by car from Newcastle to Devon in 1991 I saw the Northern lights when passing Bristol on the M5. It was very clear and impressive. It was in the newspaper the following day.
I will keep watching this week. Thanks for info!

Regards.

Peter.

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Photographing Northern Lights

1. The 'lights' are a moving phenomina.

2. They aren't very bright (though our eyes resolve them well in the dark).

Therefore you need a fast film, as wide a lens aperture as possible and slow shutter speed (see blow for definition of slow).

Film - Colour slide stock gives best colour saturation and can look stunning when printed well, but is very sensetive to exposure. The good news is that under exposure (highly likely) tends to beef up the colour sat., and you are unlikely to want any shadow detail, so don't be put off. Print film is less exposure critical. Either way use a good quality ASA 400 minimum, and preferably 800/1000. If you know of a specialist lab, ask them to recommend a slide film for 'push processing' (changing the chemical process to boost the effective film speed), and what camera setting to use. Oh, and check the price too. Quality hand processing costs, but we're boat owners so we are used to that.

I would imagine they are likely to fill the horizon so a good wideangle lens is the one to go for, or a 50mm which is likely to have the widest aperture in your camera bag (based on 35mm format). If you can use 2 to 2.8mm aperture depth of focus is minimal, but also immaterial. Focus on infinity, or the roof / treetops for interest. The aurora will be blured anyway, see below.

Shutter speed. You need a firm tripod and a bulb release. Based on 800ASA film, 2.8 aperture, bracket exposures between say 8 / 15 / 30 seconds dependant on whether you think it is bright or not. that will give you 3 stops difference and a good chance of coming away with something more than the memory. The long exposure time means any picture will be an accumulation of the waves of colour. You stand no chance of freezing any of the individual patterns.

OR

See what the camera meter gives on auto. and then bracket 1 stop either side.

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The Northern Lights of old Aberdeen

Try this link to the Aberdeen astronomical society -

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.aberdeenastro.btinternet.co.uk/aurorabook.htm>http://www.aberdeenastro.btinternet.co.uk/aurorabook.htm</A>

Jim

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Re: Northern Lights in London: tell me it\'s true

There's a half decent display on the go right now (20:45) here on Skye. No colours but big wavy bands of light crossing the sky east to west (it's cloudy to the north).

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.qei.co.uk/spark>http://www.qei.co.uk/spark</A>
 
Re: Northern Lights in London: tell me it\'s true

Oh, it sounds beautiful, I'm jealous, jealous, jealous.

And talking of beautiful, your boat, Spark, ("bonnie enough to raise a smile" - it certainly has) is absolutely gorgeous. I'll be following her progress closely.

/forums/images/icons/smile.gif

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://kilkerr.members.easyspace.com/santateresa_pics.htm>Santa Teresa and other t'ings</A>
 
Re: Northern Lights in London: tell me it\'s true

Oldgit has posted in MoboChat that a display seen over Kent this evening.

Conditions are *extremely* active at the moment, so if you get clear skies, well worth taking a look

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Re: Photographing Northern Lights

saw or seeing absolutely nothing here, far too much light polution.

I will have to visit Canada to see my relatives at this rate. Thanks for taking time to talk me through camera settings, I will play with them on Nov 5th just to see.

Anyway, must move on from this thread, the thought police are watching,

<hr width=100% size=1>Julian

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.topcatsail.co.uk/TC_IrishCruise_2003_00.html>Irish Cruise</A>
 
Re: Northern Lights in London: tell me it\'s true

Around 1.00 am this morning the cloud had cleared and there was a clear and bright bluish glow visible from the Downs NW of Chichester, extending half way to the Zenith - not the brightest I have seen down here, but much clearer than usual.

Another band of rain tonight - groan!

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Re: Northern Lights in London: tell me it\'s true

Stopped my motorbike in Hyde Park at 11.50 pm to see if there was anything to see. Of course not cos it was raining. By time I put helmet back on they had locked the gates and I had to exit via Horsey place and leave bike. Felt a right burke wandering home in bike gear minus bike!!!
Saw the lights on a recent trip to Lapland - no background light and 15mins of green and pink. Assume it was the lights and not the local brewed hooch as others could see them! Fingers crossed for tonight.

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Re: Northern Lights in London: tell me it\'s true

Just found this picture on the BBC website taken last night in Dover!!

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/03/magazine_enl_1067526020/html/1.stm>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/03/magazine_enl_1067526020/html/1.stm</A>

<hr width=100% size=1>Gavin
 
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