Caution! Solar storm ahoy.

[Skywave]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17295337

Al.

[pwdrive]

Hello Al, if the sky is clear, those further North migh get a chance to see it, so far as I can gather this storm developed from the massive X5 x-ray flare of the early hours of the 7th. I live in hopes down hear in Cornwall but even if the sky is clear the Northen horizon is over the hill at the back of us. If anyone on the forum does see the aurora it would be interesting to know when and where. Have you noticed any affects on the Amature bands Al? I can not monitor at the moment due to house upheaval.

Lawrence.

[Robert Darwent]

From what I've read today on several websites, now that this recent solar flare has reached the Earth, the impact is proving not to be as severe as first predicted. Aurora Watch UK is currently reporting no significant activity. Although activity may increase slightly later tonight, the chances of seeing the 'Northern Lights' in the UK are expected to be slim. Add to that, the weather forecast is for a greater chance of cloud cover rather than clear skies!

Regards

[pwdrive]

The Kp infex is 5 at the moment, here is a brief explanation regarding relationship between the Kp index and auroras.

http://www.spaceweather.com/glossary/kp.html

Unfortunatly the organization that supplies a visual map of the Southern extent of aurors to spaceweather.com has pulled the plug while doing some upgrades.

lawrence.

[Robert Darwent]

The Kp infex is 5 at the moment...

I'm aware of that Lawrence, but to quote the report on the home page of SpaceWeather.com;

"CME IMPACT: A coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetic field on March 8th around 1100 UT. The impact was weaker than expected, sparking only a mild (Kp=5) geomagnetic storm. However, the storm could intensify in the hours ahead depending on electromagnetic conditions in the wake of the CME."

and Aurora Watch UK, http://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk is stating; "No significant activity"

No one would be more delighted than me is we get a chance to see the Northern Lights over most of the UK tonight, but I'm just going on the reports.

Regards

[pwdrive]

Not much hope seeing anything down hear Robert, need one that is more powerfull. All very interesting though. I would love to see the Northern Lights one day, probably Norway is my best hope. Me and my wife were trying to work out if we could get to northen Norway (without flying) from the time a CME is spotted until the time it reaches earth, what do you think?

Lawrence.

[Robert Darwent]

Me and my wife were trying to work out if we could get to northen Norway (without flying) from the time a CME is spotted until the time it reaches earth, what do you think?

Well, if you'd got everything pre-arranged to leave at a moments notice you might just make it. I believe nearly all CME's take about two days to reach the Earth once they are spotted erupting on the Sun's surface.

Going to the high latitudes of Norway/Finland/Sweden on a Northern Lights holiday is something I'd very much like to do one day. Until then, its the slight chance of glimpsing something here if the right geomagnetic storm and good observing weather conditions coincide.

Regards

[pwdrive]

Me and my wife were trying to work out if we could get to northen Norway (without flying) from the time a CME is spotted until the time it reaches earth, what do you think?

Well, if you'd got everything pre-arranged to leave at a moments notice you might just make it. I believe nearly all CME's take about two days to reach the Earth once they are spotted erupting on the Sun's surface.

Going to the high latitudes of Norway/Finland/Sweden on a Northern Lights holiday is something I'd very much like to do one day. Until then, its the slight chance of glimpsing something here if the right geomagnetic storm and good observing weather conditions coincide.
Regards

I reckoned similar Robert, I have just been looking at traveling times by train (over distance) from London and as you say it might just be possible. What really inspired us was the program that Johanna Lumley was in about her trip to see them..one day maybe.

Lawrence.

[Robert Darwent]

What really inspired us was the program that Johanna Lumley was in about her trip to see them..one day maybe.

Yes I enjoyed that programme too Lawrence.

Just before last Christmas I was sat in our doctor's waiting room when I noticed a magazine that had a picture of the aurora on the front cover, so I ended up reading the article.

It was a caravaning magazine and the article was about this chap who tested out this particular caravan by taking it to Sweden on a Northern Lights holiday. He started out in Blackpool and ended up in a caravan site in Bjurholm, Northern Sweden that specialises in that sort of thing.

I made a note of the website if you're interested; www.angsjonscamping.se

He made his journey in just about two days, going via road to the east coast, taking the ferry over to Denmark, then over a connecting elevated highway (that I've forgotten the name of) that spans the Baltic to Sweden.

He camped there for about a week and saw a spectacular Northern Lights display on his very first evening there!

So what you were thinking about is definitely possible.

Regards

[Skywave]

Update from the BBC News: March 8th, @ 17.55 hrs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17295337

During a few odd moments during today, March 8th., I did occasionally listen around on the 80m, 40m and 20m. Amateur Radio bands: no significant degradation in overall signal strengths, compared to what I normally receive, was noticed.

Al.