David's Astronomy Pages (All Sky Camera) Aurora on night 2024-09-15 / 2024-09-16

Aurora  2024-09-12

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Aurora 2024-09-16

Aurora

Notes

Night Summary (Keogram) Plot Pictures Videos Magnetometer Stack Plots (for reference) Planetary K-Index Plot (for reference) Aurora Forecast, NOAA/Ovation (for reference)

- Auroral activity on the night 2024-09-15 / 2024-09-16 associated with geomagnetic activity up to KP3. Skies in NE Scotland were mostly clear through the entire night, but affected by bright moonlight.   Activity was visible from the Clair Observatory (+57N)  on  2024-09-16 from  00:08 to 01:44 UT (01:08 to 02:44 BST) a period of around 1.6 hours, with peak activity observed at around 01:09 to 01:25 UT (02:09 to 02:25 BST) .  (This seems to correspond with the Scandinavian Magnetometers peak activity at 01:00-01:30 UT (02:00-02:30 BST) ).   Observed activity comprised an auroral arc up to 6° altitude and occasional rays up to 10-15° altitude. -  Scandinavia magnetometers showed activity levels changing on 2024-09-15 at 11:55 UT across all station (event arrival ?). Peak activity was on 2024-09-16 at 01:00 - 01:30 UT (02:00 - 02:30 BST) -  SpaceWeather.com (2024-09-16) reported "A CME hurled into space by Saturday's (2024-09-14) X4.5-class solar flare will graze Earth on Sept. 16th, according to a NASA model. NOAA forecasters are predicting a strong G3-class geomagnetic storm when the CME arrives" The activity seen on 2024-09-16 am (00:08 to 01:44 UT) either relates to other/earlier sun activity or the extreme edge of the CME associated with the X4.5 class solar flare on 2024-09-14.   - Telescope Images from night 2024-09-15 >>

Night Summary (Keogram) Plot

Night Summary Plot - North Sky (2024-09-15 / 16 ) Times on plot are local times (BST  = UTC +01h ) Aurora definitively visible on keogram from 22:00 to 03:30 BST (North Panorama Images & video show activity (though less obvious) outside this time window)

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Pictures

Panoramic View - Northern Sky

2024-09-16 01:09 UT (02:09 BST)  Faint Auroral Arc developing from 02:08 to 02:10, brightest in NNW direction (Moon at 93% phase)

2024-09-16 01:11 UT (02:11 BST)  Faint auroral arc to 6° altitude (Moon at 93% phase)

2024-09-16 01:13 UT (02:13 BST)  Auroral arc to 6° altitude, brightening slightly, possibly with curtains developing

2024-09-16 01:25 UT (02:25 BST)  Auroral arc (fading) with rays to 10-15° altitude in NNW and N-NNE directions

2024-09-16 01:44 UT (02:44 BST)  Auroral arc gone, but possibly some residual auroral activity in NNW & N directions.

30s exposures taken with Oculus All Sky Camera

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 Videos

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Magnetometer Stack Plots (for reference)

Magnetometer Stack Plots from Scandinavia (ordered by latitude) H Component - 2024-09-15 / 2024-09-16 Activity levels first change at 2024-09:15 11:55 across all stations (CME arrival ?) Peak activity at 2024-09:16 01:00 to 01:30 UT Note: Geomagnetometer activity at rvk (Rorvik, 64.95N), dob (Dombas, 62.07N), sol (Solund, 61.08N) and kar (Karmoy, 59.21N) stations are used as indicators for potential auroral activity that may be visible from my Observatory situated at latitude 57.32N  (Map of Stations)

Graphed using 'make your own graph' facilities at  https://flux.phys.uit.no/compose/   (Tromsø Geophysical Observatory  ) Original data from Tromsø Geophysical Observatory (TGO), DTU Space (Technical University of Denmark) and Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) Data also displayed on SpaceWeatherLive's Europe Stackplot at  http://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/auroral-activity/magnetometers).

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Planetary K-Index Plot (for reference)

Estimated 3 hour Planetary K-Index (NOAA)  (from http://services.swpc.noaa.gov) Planetary-k-index_2024-09-15 / 2024-09-16 Not captured

SAMNET's magnetometer at Crooktree, Near Torphins  (Chart Explanation)  - No notable spike of activity on night 2024-09-15 / 2024-09-16.  ( Slightly elevated activity earlier on 2024-09-15 at 14:00 UT)

8-day Lerwick Observatory K Index Showing max KP2- KP3 on the night of 2024-09-15 / 2024-09-16

Planetary K-Index and other information (Space Weather Prediction Centre) shows KP Index reaching max KP3.5 on night of 2024-09-15 / 2024-09-16

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Aurora Forecast, NOAA/Ovation (for reference)

Aurora Forecast for 2024-09-16 00:50 UT (01:50 BST) (From Space Weather Prediction Centre,  http://www.swpc.noaa.gov )

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