Welcome to the BillWX
Upper Atmosphere Page!
(a.k.a. AURORA Page)
2010 Starts the next upswing in solar activity toward next solar maximum!
This is a completely NEW PAGE! Here you will find interesting upper atmospheric phenomena visible over NJ, or other parts of the U.S.
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!!
New test product of the visible aurora forecast. Updated frequently.
K-Index data: If the K-index on the bar graph is higher than 7, auroral activity is more probable in the NJ area (40 deg. N).
Note, if you're geomagnetic latitude is higher, a lower number could result in activity. While farther south, a higher number
is required for auroras to be seen. The scale only goes to 9.
2015 BillWX