Northern & Australis Lights (aurora borealis)

[Alana]

It was also seen in Northern Greece

https://twitter.com/x/status/1721515748961440230

https://twitter.com/x/status/1721585892240793785

https://twitter.com/x/status/1721326244644462687

Greek weather forecaster, Sakis Arnaoutoglou, mentions that it's not the first time though. Translation from Greek.

The northern lights, apart from its appearance last night in northern Greece, has made its appearance twice more in the last 20 years and even further south in the country.

During the magnetic storm of November 20, 2003, it even appeared in Athens, and in 2010 after intense solar activity it appeared again in northern Greece.

Edit to add: I found a photo from 2003, it was red back then also. See attached.

 

[Pat]

Trying to look up low-latitude auroras, it appears the red colour is from oxygen and higher above the Earth than greenish auroras.





It appears in the images that the aurora light in Turkey is closer to the horizon, than the images from Austria. A light at an altitude of 464 km, taking the number from the article, though all we know is that "Observed red color coincides with a high altitude aurora;" would be visible from even far away. In other words, if one is that high above the surface of the Earth, the horizon of the Earth is more than 2600 km away. That is what I got using this calculator Distance to Visible Horizon Calculator | Calculate Distance to Visible Horizon

Here is an image that shows how the colours vary with altitude:
View attachment 84879
And another which gives a limit of 800 km for the red auroras:
View attachment 84880
It is possible that recent rain following low pressure systems from the Atlantic has cleared the atmosphere over Europe of dust and made the display more spectacular than it would have been, had it happened in the heat of summer.

If the rain is indispensable prior to auroras, maybe that's the reason why here on the Costa blanca in Spain we didn't have any display so far. We have been looking forward to some rain for a while now. As usual, very dry around here!

 

[AzarHyun]

Linkages Between Geomagnetic Activity and Blood Pressure

Linkages Between Geomagnetic Activity and Blood Pressure - PubMed

This review aims to critically examine and present evidence for and against potential linkages between geomagnetic activity and its effects on blood pressure (BP). Four databases were searched for peer-reviewed papers written in English: PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Biomedical Reference...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

This review aims to critically examine and present evidence for and against potential linkages between geomagnetic activity and its effects on blood pressure (BP). Four databases were searched for peer-reviewed papers written in English: PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Biomedical Reference Collection. Retrieved titles were first screened for potential relevance followed by an abstract review for further clarifications if warranted. The preponderance of the reported evidence is consistent with the concept that space weather and related events that cause sufficiently large changes in the geomagnetic field (GMF) can impact BP. The associated BP change in most but not all cases is one in which both systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure increase, with SBP appearing to be more consistently involved. The magnitude of the reported BP increase ranges from about 3 to 8 mmHg depending on the intensity of the geomagnetic activity. The initiation of these BP changes has been variably reported to occur shortly before the GMF change or in synchrony with the abrupt change in the GMF. Such GMF-linked BP changes are not present in all persons and there appears to be increased sensitivity in women and in persons with co-existing hypertension. The utility of these findings in assessing or treating persons with known or suspected hypertension remains to be determined via future research. Further, research directed at determining the factors that determine responders from non-responders to GMF changes is warranted

And

Associations between solar and geomagnetic activity and peripheral white blood cells in the Normative Aging Study

It has been hypothesized that solar and geomagnetic activity can affect the function of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and melatonin secretion, which both may influence immune response. We investigated the association between solar geomagnetic activity and white blood cell counts in the Normative Aging Study (NAS) Cohort between 2000 and 2013. Linear mixed effects models with moving day averages ranging from 0 to 28 days were used to evaluate the effects of solar activity measures, Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF), and Sunspot Number (SSN), and a measure of geomagnetic activity, Kp Index (Kp), on total white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil, monocytes, lymphocyte, eosinophil, and basophil concentrations. Even after adjusting for demographic and health related factors, there were consistent significant associations between IMF, SSN, and Kp index, with reduced total WBC, neutrophils, and basophil counts that were stronger with longer moving averages. The associations were similar after adjusting for ambient air particulate pollution. Our findings suggest that periods of increased solar and geomagnetic activity result in lower WBC, neutrophil and basophil counts that may contribute to slight immune suppression

Associations between solar and geomagnetic activity and peripheral white blood cells in the Normative Aging Study

It has been hypothesized that solar and geomagnetic activity can affect the function of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and melatonin secretion, which both may influence immune response. We investigated the association between solar geomagnetic activity ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[thorbiorn]

If the rain is indispensable prior to auroras, maybe that's the reason why here on the Costa blanca in Spain we didn't have any display so far. We have been looking forward to some rain for a while now. As usual, very dry around here!

A clear atmosphere is perhaps not indispensable in all situations, but if the auroras would be low above the horizon, then the light has to penetrate more atmosphere.

If you have the star program Stellarium, and you select a star, then next to the magnitude it will, depending on your settings, tell you the number of airmasses the light has to penetrate. One airmass corresponds to what is right above us, the air that is responsible for giving our air pressure. Stars low in the horizon may have to penetrates what would amount to more than five airmasses, some as much a 20 airmasses. That is also why stars close to the horizon can be hard or impossible to observe, even if the sky is clear of clouds.

 

[XPan]

Among the flood of Auroral images
at Spaceweather.com, I thought the two below stuck out in particular - simply mesmerizing to look at. Mind boggling beautiful !

I also feel that the photographer has been doing very well in his post processing; the way it is representing the colors and brightness - without adding even more "drama" to it (which many photographers appear to do at Spaceweather.com) So, these auroras must indeed been exceptionally bright and unusual colorful (over Southeast Norway).

Digital cameras these days really capture the many finer nuances in colorful aurora (in combination with bright lenses and higher ISO)... which is such a great benefit - when comparing that to (daylight, 5500°K) balanced film material, we used in the older days of photography.

Janne Maj Nagelsen wrote:

This aurora was literally insane! I have never seen such strong auroras here where I live. Not to mention the colors. I mean look at the picture! Totally insane to be this far south in the country.

Taken by Janne Maj Nagelsen on November 5, 2023 @ Stamnes, Vaksdal, Norway


Janne Maj Nagelsen



September 1993, Umeå - Sweden

I personally have only once witnessed super bright auroras. It was September 1993, when friends of mine went by car up to the Umeå region in Northern Sweden. The air was close to frost temperature... And in the beginning we saw weak to moderate bright, green auroras for several hours.

Then all of the sudden around midnight - a major "flare" literally erupted above our heads.

That curtain danced wildly (with fast movements within) right above our heads, stretching from one and to the other end of the horizon - with mostly pale green colors, BUT on the lower side of that curtain - tiny "sparks" and "streaks" in all of the rainbow colors appeared to dance, giving the impression of thousands sparks. It was so.... beyond anything I had ever seen - that we too danced, literally, in the grass - screaming with youthful excitement and fascination.

The peak of this "flare" outbreak was very fast - too fast - and lasted perhaps 15-20 seconds at the most.

The light intensity within the flare, reminded me of the light levels you encounter during dull, overcast winter day in Scandinavia. (One photo demonstrates this well, as the auroras is as bright as the bright lights at the cottage) The flare pulled quickly away. Around round 10 minutes later, it had created two huge shining rings - covering the entire sky. I mean, one ring within another much bigger one, in an almost symmetric configuration. It was way too large for me to take images of.

I used an older type of medium format (6x6) camera called Mamiya C330 ƒ (looks like a Rolleiflex twin-eyed camera, with color film and a slight wide angle lens - but with relatively slow aperture ƒ3.5. So, exposure times at first where 40 sec to 2 minutes - but during the peak perhaps 10 seconds exposure time. I wasn't really equipped to take images of such large wonders covering... almost the entire sky. Nor did we anticipate any auroras coming - because the peak of 1989-91 was already behind us.

This is an example of the beginning that evening - 2-3 hours before the sudden outbreak.




Below:
I tried to capture the flare as it was just about to unfold, moving towards the zenith... but it was so fast moving, and i had to guess the exposure time in all this sudden excitement, yet unsure of how long or short the exposure should be (which means, this frame was underexposed)... The film itself was of daylight type (5500°K) like almost all films were made for daylight - therefore the variation in the color nuances were not very well captured. (I often feel that Auroras require a color balance around 3800°K to bring out the nuances)

A so called tungsten film (3200°K) would have been better for that back then.




Below:
This was perhaps 8-10 seconds after the peak outbreak above our heads, as the flare moved away again, but I could at least partially capture it against the backdrop of the star sign Auriga and some clouds. Notice that the brightness was as bright as the lights in the cottage. The older Mamiya Sekor 65mm f 3.5 lens design itself, when used at wide open aperture, created reflections when you have strong highlights in the frame - so, those are no ufo's *grin*

 

[Alejo]

Wow,

Despite the craziness of the world, at our social human level... the cosmos has not been quiet and has provided some beautiful skies to look at.

 

[thorbiorn]

There was on November 4
https://twitter.com/TamithaSkov

Direct Hit at long last! A #solarstorm launches while in the Earth-strike zone today. NASA prediction shows impact by mid-day November 5. This storm will be sandwiched by glancing blows before & fast solar wind after, making #aurora possible to mid-latitudes until November 10!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1720599855322861819

In this update, from a few hours ago, around 6:00 UTC on November 7, Skov says that:

Actually, the fast wind has arrived and #aurora views are still being generated, but they are occurring at higher latitudes for now.

When I look at the animation, it appears as a wave of high energy particles. When I try to imagine how it is possible to have different colours in the same photo, if it is not a composite, and knowing that colours typically originate from different elements and from different altitudes, it is conceivable that there also behind the 2D representation, is a wave in 3D, but I struggle to visualize how it actually happens.

 

[Pat]

A clear atmosphere is perhaps not indispensable in all situations, but if the auroras would be low above the horizon, then the light has to penetrate more atmosphere.

If you have the star program Stellarium, and you select a star, then next to the magnitude it will, depending on your settings, tell you the number of airmasses the light has to penetrate. One airmass corresponds to what is right above us, the air that is responsible for giving our air pressure. Stars low in the horizon may have to penetrates what would amount to more than five airmasses, some as much a 20 airmasses. That is also why stars close to the horizon can be hard or impossible to observe, even if the sky is clear of clouds.

Thank you for your reply.

 

[Alejo]

When I look at the animation, it appears as a wave of high energy particles. When I try to imagine how it is possible to have different colours in the same photo, if it is not a composite, and knowing that colours typically originate from different elements and from different altitudes, it is conceivable that there also behind the 2D representation, is a wave in 3D, but I struggle to visualize how it actually happens.

Perhaps another perspective on the aurora might help you visualize things? here they are from above.

Also, I came across this article in which they talk about STEVE, not being an aurora at all, and apparently they do not know mucha about it.

They began by using images from ground-based cameras that record auroras over North America, which they then combined with data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration‘s (NOAA) Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite 17 (POES-17). This satellite, which can measure the precipitation of charged particles into the ionosphere, was passing directly over the ground-based cameras during the STEVE event.

What they found was that the POES-17 satellite detected no charged particles raining down on the ionosphere during the event. This means that STEVE is not likely to be caused by the same mechanism as an aurora, and is therefore an entirely new type of optical phenomenon – which the team refer to as “skyglow”. As Gallardo-Lacourt explained in an AGU press release:

“Our main conclusion is that STEVE is not an aurora. So right now, we know very little about it. And that’s the cool thing, because this has been known by photographers for decades. But for the scientists, it’s completely unknown.”

Looking ahead, Galladro-Lacourt and her colleagues seek to test the conclusions of the NASA-led study. In short, they want to find out whether the streams of fast ions and hot electrons that were detected in the ionosphere are responsible for STEVE, or if the light is being produced higher up in the atmosphere. One thing is for certain though; for aurora chasers, evening sky-watching has become more interesting!

 

[meadow_wind]

The sun has just produced its strongest eruption in 6 years. Category X2.8, it was also oriented toward the earth.
Northern Light show expected on 17th Dec.

Biggest solar flare in years temporarily disrupts radio signals on Earth.
The sun spit out the huge flare along with a massive radio burst on Thursday, causing two hours of radio interference in parts of the U.S. and other sunlit parts of the world. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it was the biggest flare since 2017, and the radio burst was extensive, affecting even the higher frequencies.

In French
Le Soleil vient d'avoir sa plus puissante éruption en 6 ans - MétéoMédia


Pictures of recent very colorful Northern Lights
Chibougameau, Qc, Canada
2023-12-01



Les Bergeronnes, La Haute-Côte-Nord Regional County Municipality, Qc, Canada
2023-12-13
Note on this picture: the person who took it says the only reason why he was able to take those pictures in the village was due to an electrical failure. The whole village was plunged into the dark that night.