Northern Lights night cruise on Friday

[MacDoc]

Potential for quite a display as this event ranks 7 on a scale of 9.

Big time northern lights -
York Soaring is an ideal viewing area as there are almost no lights nearby

go here - and there is is wireless and it's a nice ride up through Halton Hills. There is a 24 hour Timmies a 5 minute ride away at the corner of 6 and 9
http://www.yorksoaring.com/

No loud bikes please as this is a private flying club and there are campers but polite and quiet should be welcome.
Good reason for a late night ride even if the aurora is a no show.

Anywhere away from city lights might give a good show. I'll be fishing up near Peterborough so might get a very good show over the lake.

track it here

http://spaceweather.com/

ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO: As predicted by analysts at the GSFC Space Weather Lab, the first of three CMEs produced by the recent spate of flare activity reached Earth during the late hours of August 4th. The impact was weak and is not expected to produce strong geomagnetic storms. Two more CMEs are still on the way and, as described below, they may have merged into a single cloud that could produce significant storming when they reach Earth on August 5th around 13:55 UT. Stay tuned for updates.

STRONG SOLAR ACTIVITY: For the third day in a row, active sunspot 1261 has unleashed a significant M-class solar flare. The latest blast at 0357 UT on August 4th registered M9.3 on the Richter Scale of Flares, almost crossing the threshold into X-territory (X-flares are the most powerful kind). The number of energetic protons around Earth has jumped nearly 100-fold as a result of this event.

The eruption propelled a bright coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Earth. Click on the image to view a movie of the expanding cloud recorded by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory:


Note: The many speckles in this movie are caused by energetic solar protons hitting the camera.

Moving at an estimated speed of 1950 km/s, this CME is expected to sweep up an earlier CME already en route. Analysts at the GSFC Space Weather Lab say thecombined cloud should reach Earth on August 5th at 13:55 UT plus or minus 7 hours: "The impact on Earth is likely to be major. The estimated maximum geomagnetic activity index level Kp is 7 (Kp ranges from 0 - 9). The flanks of the CME may also impact STEREO A, Mars and Mercury/MESSENGER." High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras. Aurora alerts: text, voice.

[MacDoc]

I was washed out near Peterborough but staff got a faint show show N of Mississauga

Hope people in Alberta took the time - best in a generation.....

WEEKEND AURORAS: A widespread display of auroras erupted late Friday, Aug. 5th, when a double-CME hit Earth's magnetic field and sparked a G4-categorygeomagnetic storm. "It was the most impressive display I've seen in years," reports Lance Taylor of Edmonton, Alberta. "From 10:00 PM on Friday to 3:00 AM on Saturday, the sky was pulsing from horizon to horizon in every direction." He took this picture during the most intense phase of the storm:

The show was not restricted to Canada. Northern Lights spilled across the border into the United States as far south as Utah, Colorado, and Nebraska. (Note: The faint red lights photographed in Nebraska are typical of low-latitude auroras during major geomagnetic storms.) Observers in Europe as far south as England, Germany and Poland also witnessed a fine display. Browse the gallery for more examples.

more here

http://www.spaceweather.com/aurora/g...2q510vuarlmhm4

[matthew]

Nice picture, too bad I missed out on this