May 11, 2024
UPDATE: NWS Mount Holly/Philadelphia reports cloudy skies though morning and it is not looking good to view the aurora tonight or tomorrow morning.
Viewing an aurora photos vs eye:
Many people have asked can you see the aurora with your eyes and the answer is yes you can. You don’t need a camera to see the aurora with your eyes but cameras capture it better. Modern cameras capture more of the light and color that is available. You can see the aurora with your naked eye but colors won’t be as vivid or bright as compared to a modern camara.
Camera phone:
Above: Two photos were taken with a Samsung S24 Ultra phone camera hand held. Camera data: Galaxy S24 Ultra, f-stop 1.7, Exposure time 1/2 second, ISO-3200, Focal length 6mm or 35mm focal length 23mm. Was used in normal mode that activated night mode.
Full frame DSLR Camera:
Above: Two photos taken with a Canon 5D Mark IV DSLR camera on a tripod. Camera data: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Exposure time 2 seconds, ISO 1600, f-stop 2.8, focal length 16mm,
UPDATE: Several asked by direct messages what time and location to view the aurora and there is no specific time or place. There are multiple things that need to align for the aurora to be visible. I use the following methods to determine the best chance to see an aurora.
We need a geomagnetic storm from the sun strong enough that you can see the aurora this far south and we have that for the next 24 hours or so.
You need to plan ahead and find a dark place with very little light pollution as possible and a clear view to the north sky. Usually elevated rural areas, parks without lights, open fields, work best for that. Use a compass or compass application to find North. The best time is during complete darkness and this time of year most likley after 10:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m.
A good weather forecast with clear skies. This morning the sky was clear just before sunrise and it made the aurora visible. Prior to 4:00 a.m. the sky was full of clouds and it was not visible in our area but it was visible in other places around the world that had clear skies.
The next thing you need to do is check with the SPACE WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER and look at the forecast. The forecast has a lead time of 28-minutes. There is usually a red line shown and areas above the red line could see the aurora. There is also green and red showing where the aurora is predicted to be look in that direction.
Go to your dark place let your eyes adjust to the darkness, confirm clear skies and a view to the north using the compass. If the aurora is not visible relax and wait and hopefully you will see it. Sometimes the aurora arrives in waves.
You also need some luck, out of the past 10+ predictions for NJ, this morning was the first I have ever seen an aurora in New Jersey. I have been above the redline shown on the prediction maps before and have not seen the aurora in NJ until this morning. The last aurora I seen was in Vermont two years ago.
Something that is nice to have is a red flashlight. White light will screw up your night vision so avoid regular flashlights if possible while in the field. When you use red flashlights it takes less time for your eyes to readjust to the darkness. According to the National Park Service, “It is an interesting trait that deep red lights do not trigger the neutralization of the rhodopsin, so astronomers and safety officials use red lights for night lighting to allow night vision to continue.”
Good luck finding the aurora tonight and tomorrow night. If that does not work out many take trips to Iceland to see the aurora during the early spring, late fall and winter months when there is longer darkness. Trips to Iceland in the summer have daylight 24/7 and the aurora is not usually seen during the summer. When I was in Vermont I seen an aurora at night in August 2022 a friend was in Iceland at the same time could not see the aurora because it was daylight for close to 24 hours during that time of year.
Update: As of 6:00 p.m. GOES-EAST Satellite is showing cloud cover that will most likely increase overnight. National Weather Service Mount Holly/Philadelphia reports Showers likely, mainly after 5am. Increasing clouds, with a low around 47. We need a mostly clear view to the northern sky. If this does not happen tonight Sunday night may be good since there are still active X-Class Flares from the sun and the aurora should continue to be active. The Space Weather Prediction Center issued a Geomagnetic Storm Watch for May 12, 2024 see below:
SPACE WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER
Tomorrow: SEVERE AND EXTREME (G4-G5) GEOMAGNETIC STORMS LIKELY ON 12 MAY 2024
published: Saturday, May 11, 2024 17:54 UTC
Another series of CMEs associated with flare activity from Region 3664 over the past several days are expected to merge and arrive at Earth by midday (UTC) on 12 May. Periods of G4-G5 (Severe-Extreme) geomagnetic storms are likely to follow the arrival of these CMEs.
ROBBINSVILLE, NJ (MERCER)–UPDATE: NOAA NWS Space Weather Prediction Center reports that X-Class Flares continue to occur making tonight another good viewing opportunity to see the Aurora Borealis Northern Lights over New Jersey.
The photos from this morning were taken with a Canon 5D MKIV SLR camera with a very wide 2.8f lens, some photos were even taken with a Samsung S24 Ultra and were good out of camera and phone.
The best way to capture the aurora is to use a SLR or mirrorless camera with a tripod if you do not have one of the latest Samsung or Apple phones should do. Get to a dark location away from city lights as much as possible. You should have a compass or compass application on your phone and find North. Once you find North look in that direction and you will need clear skies or at least broken clouds to see the aurora. Point your camera in that direction.
Camera settings this morning was 1/2 second at 2.8f at iso 3,200 on the Canon 5D Mark IV and some of the photos were adjusted a little depending on the sky. On the Samsung S24 Ultra night mode was used. There was no tripod used for the cell phone and there is some slight movement seen in the stars when using the camera phone. Tonight, if the skies are clear I will bring a second tripod for the phone camera.
NOAA 30-minute forecast link:
AURORA – 30 MINUTE FORECAST
For tonight some have been asking and it is looking like it might be cloudy but there are some holes in the clouds so hopefully we see something.
GOES-EAST Satellite check images on the link below for cloud cover.
GOES-East – Continental U.S. (CONUS) Images
ROBBINSVILLE, NJ (MERCER)–Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, was seen over New Jersey early this morning after skies cleared last night. Pillars of light in purple, red and green were observed this morning just before dawn.
According to NOAA we are experiencing the aurora because of large Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) on the Sun. They are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun’s corona.
If you missed this morning’s aurora you should have another opportunity tonight.
MidJersey.news has had reports of the aurora seen as far south as Florida.
Photo of the sun this morning May 11, 2024
Large sunspots can be seen on the sun this morning causing X-class solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) creating conditions for the aurora.
According to NASA, Flares happen when the powerful magnetic fields in and around the sun reconnect. They’re usually associated with active regions, often seen as sun spots, where the magnetic fields are strongest. Flares are classified according to their strength. The smallest ones are B-class, followed by C, M and X, the largest. X-class flare like that can create long lasting radiation storms, which can harm satellites and even give airline passengers, flying near the poles, small radiation doses. X flares also have the potential to create global transmission problems and world-wide blackouts.
YET ANOTHER X-CLASS FLARE!
Space Weather Message Code: ALTK08Serial Number: 37Issue Time: 2024 May 11 0944 UTCALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 8, 9- Threshold Reached: 2024 May 11 0940 UTCSynoptic Period: 0900-1200 UTC Active Warning: YesNOAA Scale: G4 - SevereNOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found atwww.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanationPotential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 45 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.Induced Currents - Possible widespread voltage control problems and some protective systems may mistakenly trip out key assets from the power grid. Induced pipeline currents intensify.Spacecraft - Systems may experience surface charging; increased drag on low earth orbit satellites, and tracking and orientation problems may occur.Navigation - Satellite navigation (GPS) degraded or inoperable for hours.Radio - HF (high frequency) radio propagation sporadic or blacked out.
Aurora - Aurora may be seen as low as Alabama and northern California.
According to NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center:
Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun’s corona. They can eject billions of tons of coronal material and carry an embedded magnetic field (frozen in flux) that is stronger than the background solar wind interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength. CMEs travel outward from the Sun at speeds ranging from slower than 250 kilometers per second (km/s) to as fast as near 3000 km/s. The fastest Earth-directed CMEs can reach our planet in as little as 15-18 hours. Slower CMEs can take several days to arrive. They expand in size as they propagate away from the Sun and larger CMEs can reach a size comprising nearly a quarter of the space between Earth and the Sun by the time it reaches our planet.
The more explosive CMEs generally begin when highly twisted magnetic field structures (flux ropes) contained in the Sun’s lower corona become too stressed and realign into a less tense configuration – a process called magnetic reconnection. This can result in the sudden release of electromagnetic energy in the form of a solar flare; which typically accompanies the explosive acceleration of plasma away from the Sun – the CME. These types of CMEs usually take place from areas of the Sun with localized fields of strong and stressed magnetic flux; such as active regions associated with sunspot groups. CMEs can also occur from locations where relatively cool and denser plasma is trapped and suspended by magnetic flux extending up to the inner corona – filaments and prominences. When these flux ropes reconfigure, the denser filament or prominence can collapse back to the solar surface and be quietly reabsorbed, or a CME may result. CMEs travelling faster than the background solar wind speed can generate a shock wave. These shock waves can accelerate charged particles ahead of them – causing increased radiation storm potential or intensity.
Important CME parameters used in analysis are size, speed, and direction. These properties are inferred from orbital satellites’ coronagraph imagery by SWPC forecasters to determine any Earth-impact likelihood. The NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) carries a coronagraph – known as the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO). This instrument has two ranges for optical imaging of the Sun’s corona: C2 (covers distance range of 1.5 to 6 solar radii) and C3 (range of 3 to 32 solar radii). The LASCO instrument is currently the primary means used by forecasters to analyze and categorize CMEs; however another coronagraph is on the NASA STEREO-A spacecraft as an additional source.
Imminent CME arrival is first observed by the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite, located at the L1 orbital area. Sudden increases in density, total interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) strength, and solar wind speed at the DSCOVR spacecraft indicate arrival of the CME-associated interplanetary shock ahead of the magnetic cloud. This can often provide 15 to 60 minutes advanced warning of shock arrival at Earth – and any possible sudden impulse or sudden storm commencement; as registered by Earth-based magnetometers.
Important aspects of an arriving CME and its likelihood for causing more intense geomagnetic storming include the strength and direction of the IMF beginning with shock arrival, followed by arrival and passage of the plasma cloud and frozen-in-flux magnetic field. More intense levels of geomagnetic storming are favored when the CME enhanced IMF becomes more pronounced and prolonged in a south-directed orientation. Some CMEs show predominantly one direction of the magnetic field during its passage, while most exhibit changing field directions as the CME passes over Earth. Generally, CMEs that impact Earth’s magnetosphere will at some point have an IMF orientation that favors generation of geomagnetic storming. Geomagnetic storms are classified using a five-level NOAA Space Weather Scale. SWPC forecasters discuss analysis and geomagnetic storm potential of CMEs in the forecast discussion and predict levels of geomagnetic storming in the 3-day forecast.
If you missed this morning’s aurora you should have another opportunity tonight. The following links will be helpful for those trying see Aurora Borealis tonight:
SPACE WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER
AURORA DASHBOARD (EXPERIMENTAL)
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/aurora-dashboard-experimental
NOAA 30-minute forecast link:
AURORA – 30 MINUTE FORECAST
AURORA VIEWLINE FOR TONIGHT AND TOMORROW NIGHT (EXPERIMENTAL)
Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis as seen from the Robbinsville – Allentown, New Jersey area. (The earlier set of photos had wrong date posted. Photos were taken around 4:30 a.m. in Robbinsville – Allentown area May 11, 2024.)
https://www.facebook.com/NOAASatellites/videos/821526850032879