# Calling Bad Astronomer: aurora borealis question. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 10, 2003, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-bad-astronomer-aurora-borealis-question/154021 "2003-02-10T03:55:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-bad-astronomer-aurora-borealis-question/154021/1 "2003-02-10T03:55:40Z")
I’ll get straight to the point: Is there any certifiable way to predict when the aurora borealis will appear? The story: I was driving home tonight from Bismarck, about an hour and a half drive. Just south of Max (35 miles from town), I looked and saw what I thought was the glow of headlights from the north. Weird thing was, they were _green_! And they kept moving. About a half a breath later I realised I was looking at the aurora borealis. Peronally hailing from Northern New Jersey, I was under the impression that: A) They only come out during the wintertime, and B) You can only see them from the Northern Tier. I know they can come in different colors. I also found out from a search of the SDMB that you can apparently see them as far south as Tuscon, AZ. I also found that you can get a [forecast of solar activity](http://www.sel.noaa.gov/forecast.html) from the government. So, is it really all that possible to predict when, where, and what color they’re gonna be? Tripler Last time I saw them, I was at a toga party in May. No, I wasn’t drunk. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-bad-astronomer-aurora-borealis-question/154021/2 "2003-02-10T05:52:30Z")
Check out [www.spaceweather.com](http://www.spaceweather.com). They keep track of solar activity and give estimates of how likely it is that there will be activity. The northern lights are not limited to winter time, although the nights are longer and often clearer so maybe they’re more frequently seen then. As for predicting where the aurora will be visible, when, and what color – it seems to be a very approximate art. We can observe coronal holes and solar mass ejections but apparently can’t tell precisely where the ejected particles are heading or how fast. ---
**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:** [February 10, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-bad-astronomer-aurora-borealis-question/154021/3 "2003-02-10T21:46:12Z")
[www.spacew.com](http://www.spacew.com) also has recent sighting reports. From [http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast26oct\_1.htm:](http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast26oct_1.htm:) > [@](#): > > Geomagnetic storms erupt when solar wind gusts or coronal mass ejections (CMEs) hit Earth’s magnetosphere – a magnetic bubble around our planet that protects us from the relentless solar wind. The magnetosphere is filled with electrons and protons. Normally these particles are trapped by lines of force (so-called “magnetic bottles”) that prevent them from escaping to space or descending to the planet below. > > “When a CME hits the magnetosphere,” explains Tony Lui, “the impact knocks loose some of those trapped particles. They rain down on Earth’s atmosphere and cause the air to glow where they hit.” Lui is a space physicist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. > > “Precipitating particles mostly follow magnetic field lines that lead to Earth’s poles,” he added. “The auroral ovals (circular regions of auroral light around the magnetic poles) expand during magnetic storms.” Sometimes they grow so large that people at middle latitudes – like North Carolinans – can see the light. > > Such widespread storms are usually nurtured by what scientists call “B[sub]z[/sub]” (pronounced “Bee sub Zee”) – in other words, the component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) that lies along Earth’s magnetic axis. At the magnetopause, the part of our planet’s magnetosphere that fends off the solar wind, Earth’s magnetic field points north. If the IMF tilts south (i.e., B[sub]z[/sub] becomes large and negative) it can partially cancel Earth’s magnetic field at the point of contact. So we can get some advance warning (hours, I think) if we monitor B[sub]z[/sub]. But it’s not foolproof. That page also says we tend to get more and brighter displays around the beginning of spring and autumn. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bad_Astronomer)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-bad-astronomer-aurora-borealis-question/154021/4 "2003-02-10T22:01:01Z")
Right. Like rainfall, you can predict when you get an aurora and maybe how strong it will be, but it’s not practical to predict exactly _how_ strong or where it will be. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-bad-astronomer-aurora-borealis-question/154021/5 "2003-02-10T22:37:29Z")
Walt Kelly: > [@](#): > > Who roars a roar for Nora, > Charming Nora in the night; > For she has seen Aurora > Borialis burning bright. ---
**Author:** ![Mac\_Guffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mac\_Guffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Guffin)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-bad-astronomer-aurora-borealis-question/154021/6 "2003-02-11T00:01:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tripler \* > \*\* Peronally hailing from Northern New Jersey, I was under the impression that: A) They only come out during the wintertime, and B) You can only see them from the Northern Tier. > > Tripler > \*\* A) Dude, it is still winter here. I thought the sub zero temps would have been a clue. B) This IS the Northern Tier. Any further north and you are in Canada. I saw those lights as well, way over here in Fargo. I have seen many brilliant displays here, some even in summer. Yeesh. Max, North Dakota. I have family out there. Desolate wasteland. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-bad-astronomer-aurora-borealis-question/154021/7 "2003-02-11T00:22:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by C K Dexter Haven \* > \*\*Walt Kelly: \*\* Who roars a roar for Nora, Charming Nora in the night; For she has seen Aurora Borialis burning bright. [/quote] [/quote] Hmm, can’t find the Pogo books at the moment, but the version I remember is slightly more euphonious: > [@](#): > > Hoo-roar a roar for Nora! > Nora Alice in the night, > For she has seen Aurora > Borealis burning bright. As a side note, I’ve been toying with the idea of going to southern Alaska in early May. Would I have a shot at seeing them, or is that too close to summer? (My name is Nora, if that helps at all :)) ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-bad-astronomer-aurora-borealis-question/154021/8 "2003-02-11T01:39:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by particlewill \* > \*\*A) Dude, it is still winter here. I thought the sub zero temps would have been a clue. > > B) This IS the Northern Tier. Any further north and you are in Canada. > > I saw those lights as well, way over here in Fargo. I have seen many brilliant displays here, some even in summer. > > Yeesh. Max, North Dakota. I have family out there. Desolate wasteland. \*\* [list=1] [li]“Wasteland”! And you wonder why I bitch about Minot.[/li][li]I thought it was weird when I saw them in May.[/li][/list=1] I thank y’all for the help in the sites. The only thing I’m left with is this: Is color a part of latitude? I’ve heard of green, blue, and even read auroroa borealis. I can only theorize it’s a function of which angle the solar wind strikes the magnetosphere. . . Tripler And **particlewill** , when the hell are you coming to Minot for a _Doper Gittogether_?!? ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-bad-astronomer-aurora-borealis-question/154021/9 "2003-02-11T02:02:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tripler \* > \*\*heard of green, blue, and even read auroroa borealis. I can only theorize it’s a function of which angle the solar wind strikes the magnetosphere._Doper Gittogether_?!? \*\* Make that “red” in the aurora borealis. I’m a moron, no matter how many times I preview. . . Tripler But colors, are they predictable? ---
**Author:** ![SnugTheJoiner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@SnugTheJoiner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnugTheJoiner)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-bad-astronomer-aurora-borealis-question/154021/10 "2003-02-11T08:05:03Z")
Fretful Porpentine: Got my handy POGO book right here. And the song goes: O roar a roar for Nora, Nora Alice in the night. For she has seen Aurora Borealis burning bright. A furore for our Nora! And applaud Aurora seen! Where, throughout the Summer, has Our Borealis been? IMHO, Walt Kelly had a gift for twisting and remolding the English language unlike anyone since James Joyce. He could have been a great writer like Joyce, but instead he decided to use his talent to make people happy.