Wednesday
(1)I just had a long series of crackles on my speakers in time to the flickering of the overhead lights. One of the others in the flat noticed problems with his radio this morning. These all could be signs of the incoming solar storm. It is one of the three largest since records have been kept on such things. The last really big one, in 1989, took down a big chunk of the Canadian power grid.
If it hits us just right, there could be spectacular aurorae tonight. It is worth going outside tonight and looking up, just in case. There may be nothing or there may be one of the more spectacular heavenly sights you have ever seen. There is just no telling.
At the moment my upward view is rather grey and the outdoors is cold, damp and rather miserable. I doubt I will have the pleasure of seeing this natural lightshow unless the weather changes drastically.
Weather reports this morning said the aurora was visible in Boston last night - or would have been, but we had thunderstorms.
Posted by S. Weasel at October 29, 2003 01:29 PM
It was clear down here near Dallas last night, but I didn't see anything. Guess maybe I need to be a bit further North, but I'll keep my eyes open again tonight.
Posted by Andrew Duncalfe at October 29, 2003 02:47 PM
"At the moment my upward view is rather grey and the outdoors is cold, damp and rather miserable."
Normal British Isles weather, in other words. Can't wait to get back, early next year.
And I'm not being sarcastic. I like cold, damp and miserable.
Posted by Kim du Toit at October 29, 2003 06:46 PM
I wonder when the leading Clerics in the Greenies will blame it all on President Bush for his failure to sign onto "Kyoto" ??
Posted by Shaun Bourke at October 29, 2003 08:14 PM
It's turned into quite a clear night here in Belfast... but there is nothing going on to the North. No waving pastel curtains to be seen...
Posted by Dale Amon at October 29, 2003 11:06 PM
I got to watch the aurora out of the window of a JAL 747-400 from somewhere over Siberia. Very spectacular, and very cool. The stewardess went to great trouble to point it out to me, which was nice. (It was a little hard for her, too, as "aurora" is a hard word for a Japanese person to pronounce with all the r sounds).
Posted by Michael Jennings at October 30, 2003 06:45 AM
Okay, I have never seen a major aurora before, so I have nothing to really compare it with. I doubt it was an extremely spectacular aurora as these things go, and I wouldn't describe it as quite the most spectacular thing I have ever seen, but it was certainly quite interesting. There were sort of vertical yellowy streaks covering much of the sky to the north, and there was a sort of misty yellowy reddish structure closer to the horizon. These were not espeically bright colours, but the whole thing was quite striking. It was visible in a substantial portion of the sky.
I will say that flying a northern great circle from London to Tokyo was certainly a case of being in the right place at the right time though.
Posted by Michael Jennings at October 30, 2003 07:03 AM
I too was in flight last night across the US (from NYC to Albuquerque) and the pilot was kind enough to tell us to look northwards - it was very impressive.
Posted by Garth at October 30, 2003 03:49 PM
