Welcome to the BillWX
Upper Atmosphere Page!
(a.k.a. AURORA Page)
MAJOR AURORA ACROSS NJ (AND
MUCH OF THE U.S!) NOV. 7-8, 2004 !!
DID YOU SEE IT?
| Solar X-rays: Geomagnetic Field: |
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You may wonder...what "upper atmospheric
phenomena" can I see? Well, this page will not feature aliens, UFOs and
the like. Instead, here you will find interesting pictures of the upper
atmosphere..from the upper stratosphere to the exosphere. It is in
these areas that Auroras (or commonly "Northern Lights") are visible.
Satellites and space probes monitor the sun for storms that can send
charged particles into space. These fast moving particles of energy can
occasionally slam into the radiation fields and upper atmosphere of the
earth, causing auroras. When these storms become strong enough, we can
sometimes see these events over the skies of NJ. The year 2000 marks a
time of increased solar (sun) storms, in a solar cylce that
occurs every 11 years or so. The last time the sun became stormy was in
1989. However, the sun can unleash huge storms during non-peak times.
This new plot estimates
the VISIBILITY of auroral activity from any location in the northern
hemisphere, assuming a dark moonless sky and low light pollution. It is
updated every 5 minutes with the latest solar wind data. The
image is created using
a model that computes the potential auroral luminosity from current
solar
wind conditions.The model computes the estimated brightness of auroral
activity and plots this on the map as a solid bright color that varies
from green (NIL
to low levels of auroral activity) to brown/orange (low to moderate
levels
of activity) to red (moderate to high levels of activity). The brighter
the
red, the more intense the activity. Those areas which may be able to
spot
activity are most often within the zone of fading color on the
outskirts of
the plotted auroral oval. The extent of the fading color zone on the
outskirts of the oval is based on the estimated height and intensity of
auroral luminosity. This is a new model and may over or underestimate
the chances of seeing auroras in any given location. SCROLL DOWN
FOR THE MOST RECENT REAL AURORA SATELLITE IMAGES!!
