The Aurora Rules!!

   This (finally!) is my page dedicated to the aurora.  Some of you may wonder why it took me so long to put this page up.  Well, the reason is is that I have been so busy, lately, that I have not had sufficient time to "keep my head above water"--let alone the stuff that I actually _want_ to do.

   Here are two pictures of the aurora that I think other people will like:

Photo credited to Knight Ridder.  Printed in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

Photo credited to the Associated Press.  Printed in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

   And here are some pictures of the aurora that _I_ like:

Photo credited to Thomas Ulich--site: http://cc.oulu.fi/~thu/Aurora/.


The above is my all-time favorite picture of the aurora.  Interestingly, I had "lost" it on the Internet--for over a year!--before I found it again.


No credit given for photo--site: http://www.uaf.edu.

   Click here to see some awesome pictures of the aurora taken by a one Dennis Henize--from when he was staying in Deadhorse, Alaska.

   So, where do I have to be to see the aurora, 'n stuff?

   Shown below is a plot of maximum southward extent of overhead aurora for a given Kp (a measure of auroral activity---see http://sec.noaa.gov/today.html).  The picture is result of averaging data over many years.  Please note that as the aurora is SOO high up, one can see it 400 km (~250 miles) southward of its overhead position.  Also please note that the aurora is a "total dark phenomena." Most of the time, it can only possibly be viewed durning "astronomical twilight"--that is, when the sun is 18+ degrees below the horizon.  Also, there should/needs be no light in one's field of vision, and as little "light pollution" as possible.


   I took the above picture from http://www.sec.noaa.gov, 'n stuff.  So, one can see the aurora that far south (you wouldn't believe how many people won't accept that that can happen, 'n stuff :) ).

   Check out a bit on THE storm of 3/31/01.

   And check out a bit on ANOTHER storm, 11/07--11/08.

   And here is a bit on Yet ANOTHER storm, 10/30/04.

   Check out a bit on auroral sounds.

Links on the Aurora:

   Links on the aurora abound.  But, time and again, the two that I return to time and again are:

The Aurora Page--the best for "all around information," and ACE.  ACE is unparalleled for determining if there is going to be a display within the next two hours, or so.

A final, more personal, note about the aurora.  When I was 12 years old, I decided that there were four things that I wanted to accomplish in my life.  One of them was to see the aurora.  At 31--nineteen years later, after enormous sacrifice and effort--I finally did.  Believe me, I was NOT disappointed.  No matter what the obstacles, no matter how difficult the journey, I would recommend to _all_ that they see the "northern lights"--if just the once.

And for those of you on the East Coast, who would like to take an "aurora trip," check out East Coast Travel.