# Attention Aussies - forget the pub, we have aurora... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 12, 2001, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-aussies-forget-the-pub-we-have-aurora/61699 "2001-04-12T10:05:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2001, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-aussies-forget-the-pub-we-have-aurora/61699/1 "2001-04-12T10:05:16Z")
It’s Good Friday tomorrow and the pubs will be closed anyway. If you’re living at a latitude similar to or south of Sydney, get your butt outside and go look up at the sky. [click here to see why](http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s276754.htm) If you want specific information about which regions near you the aurora are visible from, try [this thread](http://www2b.abc.net.au/science/k2/stn/posts/topic278308.shtm) in the ABC science forum. ---
**Author:** ![ryoushi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@ryoushi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryoushi)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2001, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-aussies-forget-the-pub-we-have-aurora/61699/2 "2001-04-12T10:13:18Z")
…but I live in Brisbane. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Tisme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@Tisme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tisme)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2001, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-aussies-forget-the-pub-we-have-aurora/61699/3 "2001-04-12T10:16:05Z")
Thanks for the tip reprise, I’ll keep my eyes peeled. I live in Port Lincoln in S.A. which is pretty well south. ---
**Author:** ![RalfCoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@RalfCoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RalfCoder)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2001, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-aussies-forget-the-pub-we-have-aurora/61699/4 "2001-04-12T13:36:02Z")
[http://www.spaceweather.com/](http://www.spaceweather.com/) monitors solar flares, meteor storms, and other such. You can use the “subscribe…” link near the top of the page to sign up for an e-mail warning of when something like a coronal mass ejection occurs, so’s you know when to go outside and look up. Fair warning, though - I get a lot of false alarms from them. But when you see a real aurura, it’s worth it! ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2001, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-aussies-forget-the-pub-we-have-aurora/61699/5 "2001-04-13T01:24:09Z")
We had a perfect, pitch black, still, freezing night - up until about 9pm when the clouds rolled in and totally destroyed any chance of viewing the aurora. ☹ I’m checking the science forum at the ABC to see whether anyone had better luck - if so, I’ll link to the pics. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2001, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-aussies-forget-the-pub-we-have-aurora/61699/6 "2001-04-13T04:25:52Z")
For a summary of current conditions, you can go to [http://www.sec.noaa.gov/today2.html](http://www.sec.noaa.gov/today2.html) . Here’s a whole page of aurora observations: [http://www.spacew.com/www/auroras.html](http://www.spacew.com/www/auroras.html) The owner of the site has said he would welcome reports from anywhere, including the Southern Hemisphere. There was one from the South Pole when I last looked. You can get a free subscription to an e-mail notification of possible aurora here: [http://www.skypub.com/news/astroalert/astroalert.html](http://www.skypub.com/news/astroalert/astroalert.html) . However, it has a lot of subscribers, so the notification you receive may be delayed. ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2001, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-aussies-forget-the-pub-we-have-aurora/61699/7 "2001-04-13T04:29:54Z")
Hey I’m pretty far from Australia, but a couple weekends ago I was out in the _sticks_ in Gilroy, California and saw the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in my life. The sky was deep, deep reddish purple, and was MOVING. Took my breath away! Me and the friends I was with just stood there totally speechless. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2001, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-aussies-forget-the-pub-we-have-aurora/61699/8 "2001-04-13T07:16:38Z")
Auckland, NZ here – not much in the way of aurora reports 'cause of [sub](damn and blast)[/sub] clouds, the tail of a storm-front etc. I remember seeing one a few years back, though. Couldn’t believe it was an aurora because usually we’re too far north here. But it was. And it was ethereally beautiful … ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2001, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-aussies-forget-the-pub-we-have-aurora/61699/9 "2001-04-13T12:03:03Z")
Damn. I did see a glow in the sky, but it was probably the used car yards on Canterbury Road. ☹ Must be too far norf, like.