# Finally! Aurora Borealis!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 30, 2003, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546 "2003-10-30T23:59:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/1 "2003-10-30T23:59:50Z")
I was outside just now, watching the Northern Lights… in southern Pennsylvania. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen it in 41 years. This is so cool! Woo Hoo!!! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/2 "2003-10-31T00:27:15Z")
I’d never seen the aurora before, always wanted to. It was quite visible tonight, here in southern Maryland. A lot of red, a touch of blue along one side, very pretty. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/3 "2003-10-31T00:30:36Z")
BTW, [Spaceweather](http://www.spaceweather.com)’s saying sightings may be possible “at all latitudes”. This magnetic storm’s a biggie. Folks, wherever you are tonight, step outside every now and then, and look toward the nearest magnetic pole. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/4 "2003-10-31T00:43:55Z")
Two nights ago, we had brilliant displays with waves and rays and all that. I was tired and didn’t go out to see it. Thought I’d wait until last night. It clouded over and we saw nothing. Dang. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/5 "2003-10-31T01:04:31Z")
It’s finally a nice clear night here in Knoxville - I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled as I head home in an hour or so, and decide if I’m going to stop somewhere for some film, just in case. My apartment faces north and if they didn’t replace them, two of the parking lot lights are out, which makes for great star viewing - it would be very nice to see them. ---
**Author:** ![cadolphin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c37758/32.png) [@cadolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cadolphin)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/6 "2003-10-31T01:15:19Z")
Is there a site that will tell if my area could be lucky enough to see them? ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/7 "2003-10-31T01:19:31Z")
We’ve had clouds (and even some snow!) all week. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/8 "2003-10-31T01:29:16Z")
Kathy - [Spaceweather.com](http://Spaceweather.com) (link above) is the best place to go. I’m paying extra for phone/email alerts; here’s what they had to say 6 hours ago: > [@](#): > > The Planetary Kindex has reached a level of 9. > This means that an extreme geomagnetic storm is in progress. > Sky watchers at all latitudes should be alert for auroras. IIRC, 7 or higher means respectable chances for auroras at the “mid-latitudes” as they call them. But there’s no guarantees. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/9 "2003-10-31T02:19:47Z")
I haven’t seen any since I was a kid in Illinois. Too many hills and streetlights around here. I use [this picture](http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030809.html) as my wallpaper at work. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/10 "2003-10-31T02:27:32Z")
Excellent northern lights right now in New England. We had 5 minutes of notably bright red with “fingers” of white. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/11 "2003-10-31T02:39:27Z")
Aurora viewing tips: [http://www.sec.noaa.gov/Aurora/](http://www.sec.noaa.gov/Aurora/) Check out [http://www.sec.noaa.gov/today2.html](http://www.sec.noaa.gov/today2.html), especially the maxed-out K index graph at the bottom. **FREE ALERTS** You can register for free (well, paid for by our taxes to be precise) e-mail alerts at [http://www.sec.noaa.gov/alerts/register.html](http://www.sec.noaa.gov/alerts/register.html). They offer fax and pager alerts, also apparently free. Sign up for warnings and alerts notifying you when the K index is 6 or greater. You can also get free alerts by subscribing to Astro Alerts or Skywatcher’s Bulletin at [http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/proamcollab/astroalert/default.asp](http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/proamcollab/astroalert/default.asp). ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/12 "2003-10-31T02:41:01Z")
Damn, I just went outside and we’ve still got solid cloud cover! Supposed to be clearing later, so maybe I’ll get lucky. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/13 "2003-10-31T02:59:06Z")
Don’t mind me. I’m over here sitting in the corner with **Boscibo**. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/14 "2003-10-31T03:10:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Xema \* > \*\*Excellent northern lights right now in New England. We had 5 minutes of notably bright red with “fingers” of white. \*\* Yaeh, that’s what I saw. Red with white fingers. Not **Jeff Olsen** ’s red and green beauties… still pretty cool tho! ---
**Author:** ![beegirl13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/848f3c/32.png) [@beegirl13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beegirl13)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/15 "2003-10-31T03:33:57Z")
I finally saw them too! All of the other nights were cloudy, but tonight there were lots of red blobs with some white columns now and then, and an overall pale green glow. It was my first time seeing them, and they were a lot more _vague_ than I’d imagined. I knew they weren’t going to be like pictures of Alaska or anything, but they were very subtle. Got to see them over one of the Finger Lakes. I might go out one more time before I go to bed, cause this probably won’t happen again for awhile. ---
**Author:** ![raz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/16 "2003-10-31T04:04:45Z")
What about Kansas? Surely they won’t be visible this far south, correct? _crosses fingers_ ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/17 "2003-10-31T04:18:40Z")
Get outside, **roadkiller**! The most recent storm activity has produced auroras that have been seen as far south as Arizona and (if you can believe it) northern Florida! ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/18 "2003-10-31T04:27:40Z")
I was just out a few minutes ago and saw nothing. Crystal clear, stars galore, but no more Lights. Oh well, they were pretty cool when I did see them! ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/19 "2003-10-31T04:45:33Z")
I’m in New York City, and I see nothing. Maybe it’s because of the city lights, but I’m able to see the stars, so logically, if the aurora was out there for me to see, I should see it too, right? Rats, I’ve always wanted to see the Aurora…maybe there’ll be better opportunities. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546/20 "2003-10-31T06:00:55Z")
I saw them! Kinda. There’s enough light pollution, even out here in Exurbia, Massachusetts, that only a few stars are visible where I live. I had to go out onto a nearby school’s playing field to get away from streetlights as much as possible, but did get to see a couple of eerily ghostly white fingers stretching from the northern horizon up overhead into infinity. No colors, alas, but I’ll settle for what I got. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-aurora-borealis/210546.md?page=2)