Incoming!
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I've never seen the northern lights before, even moving here folks say it's not common to see them and even if you do, you have to look at the horizon when it's dark out.
Anyway, I have an Aurora app that measures it on a scale, normally around a 1 or 2, and if it gets to a 6 then you have a good chance to see it. It was at 8.33 just now, which means you don't even have to look at the horizon, you can look straight up and see them. So I walked outside and... nada.
But then I came back out 10 minutes later and I saw what I would describe as faint lines of clouds... but they got a little brighter and little pinker, not much with the naked eye but a cool sight. Almost like faint bands of snow above you. But when you point the old iPhone at it... that's where it captures a long exposure and the colors, as seen above.
I'm impressed more than I expected to be. Can't imagine the photos people are getting in better areas.
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Wow the KP index just hit 9.0, which is the max score it can get. (Details below)
The Kp index ranges from 0 to 9.
- For Kp in the range 0 to 2, the aurora will be far north, quite dim in intensity, and not very active.
- For Kp in the range of 3 to 5, the aurora will move further from the poles, it will become brighter and there will be more auroral activity (motion and formations). If you are in the right place, these aurora can be quite pleasing to look at.
- For Kp in the range 6 to 7, the aurora will move even further from the poles and will become quite bright and active. At this geomagnetic activity level, it might be possible to see the aurora from the northern edge of the United States.
- For Kp in the range 8 to 9, the aurora will move even further towards the equator and it will become very bright and very active. These are the events that create the best aurora and the extended auroral oval will be observable by the most people. At these levels, aurora may be seen directly overhead from the northern states of the USA.
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This morning around 6:30 am a dense smoke cover from wildfires in NW BC blew and expected to remain until Monday or Tuesday. I guess I won’t see any aurora this time at all.
Was pretty spectacular after midnight for those folks who drove out into the country to avoid the city light pollution. Here are some photos a friend of mine posted on FB this am:
https://www.facebook.com/100044604061811/posts/966616888168438/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v
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