Viewing Aurora Borealis Northern Lights In The UK

Solar X-rays: Geomagnetic Field:

From n3kl.org

I hope to give some helpful information and advise for those wishing to observe the Northern Lights in the UK.

I am no expert myself and still learning I will try to put things across in laymen’s terms without getting bogged down in the complex scientific explanations of them but provide links for further information to the experts in this field.

Once you have seen the Northern Lights and watched in awe at such a natural light display I'm sure you will be hooked like myself and many others.

The first indication I watch for is sunspots that produce solar flares.

Link to Sunspot activity and flare forecast
http://spaceweather.inf.brad.ac.uk/

The stronger the flare the better however they need to be Earth directed the flares are classified from weakest to strongest A,B,C,M & X
Space Weather is good for the heads up.
http://www.spaceweather.com/

It can take a few days for a flare Coronal Mass Ejection that is Earth directed to arrive. Another source of the Aurora can be an area of the Sun leaking a magnetic filament

If a CME or Magnetic filament strikes the Earths Atmosphere we have a chance of Aurora the strength of an Aurora is measured in KP (1 to 9) The higher the number the better and further South the display.

A KP4 storm would likely be visible from the North Of Scotland A KP9 would be visible from the Southern UK.

A chart showing were you would expect to see Aurora in the UK against its KP strength is here.

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/Aurora/globeNE.html

Any activity from KP5 strength is classified by NOAA as a geomagnetic storm.

Scale

G1 Minor = KP5

G2 Moderate = KP6

G3 Strong = KP7

G4 Severe = K8

G5 Extreme = KP9

A chart here shows the expected effects on Earth and man-made equipment

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales/

Where can you find current levels of activity.

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/SWN/

On the above page looking at the ACE Real-Time Solar wind dials is self explanatory ideally you are wanting all the dials into the yellow or red. However this rarely happens.

The NOAA Scales of Activity is a good indicator of activity showing current storms and past 24hrs storm levels however I along with others have found this can be somewhat delayed.

The Auroral Map gives a visual indicator and strength of Aurora activity overlaid on a map of the Northern Hemisphere

Other Auroral Activity overlays used regularly have links below

https://cssdp.ca/ssdp/app/static/related_projects/rt_oval.html

http://helios.swpc.noaa.gov/ovation/Europe.html

A good site for UK Activity is UK Aurora Watch

The Geomagnetic Graph shows live data over the UK and is a great indicator of potential Aurora activity the site also covers areas suitable for photographing the Aurora and explanations for the live data links.

http://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/

Another European site I find useful is

Solar Influences Data Center

http://sidc.oma.be/index.php3

Aurora like the weather can be unpredictable displays can range from an arc of light, lighter than the surrounding dark sky to brilliant green and red beams and pulsating colours in the sky.

It is worth noting if you see the lighter coloured arc it is worth photographing and checking the results as it may show up green auroral light and it may be a growing storm as cameras are able to detect the auroral colours before the naked eye. Don't forget the darker the place you take observations the better you will see any display.

The best way to get up to date information is to be a member of forums such as Ukweatherworld who have a forum for Aurora watches where members post alerts and information photographs etc.

http://www.ukweatherworld.co.uk/forum/index.php

Twitter and Facebook are also invaluable for live information searching Aurora or #aurorauk (Twitter)

https://www.facebook.com/TheGreatUkAuroraHunt?fref=ts

If you are interested in learning more about space weather I can highly recommend the following site which is free to join and provides a basic understanding a short test and certificate if you pass.

https://www.meted.ucar.edu/training_detail.php?page=1&topic=16&language=1&orderBy=publishDateDesc

Photography

I use a Pentax DSLR,Tripod.

The settings I tend to use are an ISO 3200 f3.5 18mm 10 – 15 seconds on bulb settings with a remote.

Further Links

http://www.mattg.co.uk/aurora/

http://hfradio.org/aurora_globe.html

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/rt_plots/kp_3d.html

http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/3

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/spaceweather/

http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast

http://www.solarmonitor.org/

http://www.solarstormwatch.com/

http://iswa.ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080/IswaSystemWebApp/

http://www.lmsal.com/hek/her?cmd=home

http://www.spacew.com/plots.php

http://helios.swpc.noaa.gov/ovation/