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The Northern Lights
One of Nature’s
Best Kept Secrets
My Hobby
• Observing this phenomenon
• Then posting photos on my web site– www.prairiejournal.com– Started site in April 21
• Journal or blog
• Note: am an observer, not a scientist
Is it easy?
• Photos from numerous days on my web site make it look like it’s easy to observe the northern lights at my location – Just north of
Bismarck, ND
I’m Here to Tell You
It’s Not!!!
Hobby Requires:
• Persistence
• Persistence
• Persistence
Today’s Presentation
• How to be successful at viewing the northern lights
– There’s no secret formula
• Why North Dakota & other Upper Midwest states are some of the best places in world to observe
• Some special observations
• How to make this a great hobby
Ways to Guarantee Failure
• You ask me to call you when the northern lights are going to be out
• If I did that to everyone who requested it, that’s all I would get done
• You say to me, “I heard the northern lights were fantastic last night. Can I expect to see the same tonight?”
What You Need to be Successful
• An addiction to your computer– Daily review of web
sites
• Then, if conditions look good, go out
Internet Tools
• www.spaceweather.com – consider paying small fee to receive phone alerts
• www.sec.noaa.gov/ftpdir/forecasts/RSGA/0419RSGA.txt - forecasts
• www.sec.noaa.gov/ftpdir/forecasts/ALTS.txt - alerts in the past 24 hours
Internet Tools
• www.sec.noaa.gov – current space weather conditions
• www.spacew.com – consider paying small fee to receive e-mail watches & warnings / read the forum
• http://kate.nic.ualberta.ca:8000/portal/rt_oval/index.html - real time auroral oval
Soak up the Information
• If a display is expected & just starting, I have observed enough that I can look at numbers on web sites to know if the northern lights are out at my location
• I then call my dad to confirm
My Model (in head) Works for Me
Why• I study the internet
prior to a display & then after display
• I equate the numbers that I see to display
The Model isn’t Precise
Why?• It’s not an exact science• Typically you need some
combination of below to work in your favor to see the northern lights– A high solar wind speed– High densities– Interplanetary magnetic
field – shift to south
Forecasting an Inexact Science
• August 16, 2002 – story
• Same as weather forecasting 100 years ago?
• Why persistence is so important– You must experience failure
many times to be successful
Why Lost Sleep is Important
• Displays are great– However, the substorms
rock • When lights are most active &
colorful
– Substorms are often short lived
• Once you see one, you learn to appreciate the beauty & realize that the time lost watching just a green or white glow is worth it
A Great State (Region) to Observe
• You can see displays year round in North Dakota
– We have dark skies 365 days per year, unlike Alaska or northern Canada
• Our climate is drier, resulting in more nights with clear skies
• During major displays, auroral oval shifts south of location – WOW!
Appreciation
• My perception - we appreciate northern lights more because displays don’t occur everyday
Special Observations
• Astronomy photo of the day
Special Observations
• March 30, 2001 – first time see parts of sky turn blood red
Special Observations
• May 15, 2005 – northern lights should have been visible at 10:30 p.m. when dark, but took until 1:15 a.m.
Special Observations
• June 18, 2003 – one of longest days of the year - northern lights in northeast (brightest part of sky during dawn)
Special Observations
• October 28, 2008 – Fastest moving display ever seen – a visual wow!
Special Observations
• December 14, 2006 – lots of action that never witnessed before – every display is different – keeps me coming back
Special Observations
• April 19, 2002 – Monitored much of night – display occurred just before dawn – saw start of major display
Special Observations
• December 24, 2001 – my Christmas lights – photo appeared on www.cnn.com
My Hobby
• Share photos via web site– www.prairiejournal.c
om
• Nearly 50,000 page views of December 14, 2006 display– Forwarded e-mails
My Hobby
• Opportunities to speak & share stories– Such as today
• Opportunities to talk on subject with small group of people from around world– Via internet forums
My Hobby
• Opportunities to have photos featured elsewhere– www.cnn.com– New York Times– “Resort”
• Online brochure– Use to respond to e-
mail questions– Used by North
Dakota Tourism
Reference Material
• Books– Secrets of the Auroral Borealis, Vol. 29, by
Syun-Ichi Akasofu – The Aurora Watcher’s Handbook, by Neil
Davis– Aurora: The Mysterious Northern Lights,
by Candace Sherk Savage
• Online brochure