Auroral beauty stuns observers
The brightest display of northern lights in years turns an ordinary night into an extraordinary one — and there's more to come.
Michael Bakich and David Mitsky
 Mark Buettemeier imaged this auroral display from his home in Seattle. He snapped 135 frames as the aurora surged and waved, and turned them into a movie (see below). Mark Buettemeier [View Larger Image] |
| November 9, 2004 Amateur astronomers under clear skies November 7 took full advantage of a bright auroral display. For some, the show came as a complete surprise. But most had advance warning because the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — through its Space Environment Center — maintains a watch over solar activity and sends out alerts when large solar flares are detected. |
 Anthony Arrigo, co-founder of Utah Skies, photographed this aurora from Park City, Utah. He reports the red glow illuminated the northern horizon for several hours. Anthony Arrigo Sunday night's spectacular display of the aurora borealis came in three waves. The first started shortly after 8 P.M. EST. Rays, sheets, and curtains were visible in the north and northwest. Lots of detail was visible from dark sites, but local light pollution diminished their impact. A second and more intense wave of auroral activity commenced around 11:15 P.M. EST and continued for more than an hour. The display changed quickly during this time, with several observers reporting "shimmering," "dancing," and "wave-like" motion. At about 2:45 A.M. EST November 8, a third auroral display began. This was the most spectacular of the three periods of activity. Unfortunately, it was all too brief. At one point, six rays from the north through the northwest stretched from the horizon to near the zenith. The most prominent ray was in the northwest and extended upwards to the constellation Perseus. The rays were described by one observer as "the brightest auroral rays that I've ever seen." One easily noticed aspect of bright auroral displays is color. Colors reported during this auroral display included various intensities of white. And depending on the amount of light pollution in observers' skies, red and green hues varied from "muted" to "intense." Astronomy.com received numerous auroral images from readers. Mark Buettemeier, an amateur astronomer living just east of Seattle wrote, "The still shots don't do it justice as there was so much movement going on — waves and pulses of light coming from all horizons and streaking to the zenith." Buettemeier created a 135-frame animation showing about 30 minutes of auroral motion. Murtagh said NOAA had recorded another major solar flare this morning. "Earth isn't in the center of this flare's sights," he said, "but it does have an earthward component. It will begin to affect us in 2 days." |
Aurora over Seattle (File Size: 2323 KB) |
Three reasons...
To subscribe to Astronomy magazine today!
(1) Save 39%.
(2) Get full access to our online Astronomy Plus features.
(3) Receive a FREE gift.
