[HN Gopher] Most of Europe is glowing pink under the aurora
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       Most of Europe is glowing pink under the aurora
        
       Author : luispa
       Score  : 167 points
       Date   : 2024-05-10 21:59 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.foto-webcam.eu)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.foto-webcam.eu)
        
       | Kikawala wrote:
       | Even more live views at the main page: https://www.foto-
       | webcam.eu/
        
       | axblount wrote:
       | Is this related to the solar storm? Why is it pink?
        
         | anamexis wrote:
         | Yes, and pink is a typical aurora color.
        
         | NegativeLatency wrote:
         | https://www.space.com/aurora-colors-explained
         | 
         | Oxygen at higher altitudes has a different emission frequency
         | apparently (I've only ever seen the faintest green pulsing
         | aurora IRL)
         | 
         | It's possible to tell what elements something is made of by
         | determining the spectra coming off of it when it's excited:
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_spectroscopy
        
       | moralestapia wrote:
       | Oh, boy. So beautiful! It's probably visible where I am as well
       | but there's still some sunlight so gg. Hope it lasts for a while!
        
       | secondcoming wrote:
       | This shows a scientific view of it:
       | 
       | https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/space/surface/level/an...
        
         | NegativeLatency wrote:
         | This is a very cool visulization
        
         | isatty wrote:
         | That's a really cool website. Very responsive too.
        
         | zeteo wrote:
         | Is it visible from Australia as well?
        
         | davidw wrote:
         | Does it shift around? It's quite absent in the western US and
         | Canada right now:
         | 
         | https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/space/surface/level/an...
         | 
         | Of course, it's still a beautiful sunny warm day too where I am
         | so it'll be 5 hours or so before it's dark enough to see it.
        
       | bonzini wrote:
       | Barely visible in Northern Italy--no pink worth calling home
       | about--but the sky is sensibly lighter than it usually is.
        
         | davidw wrote:
         | The one pointed 'nordest' from Monte Grappa seems to show some
         | pink:
         | 
         | https://www.meteograppa.it/lewebcam.php
         | 
         | Tried looking for some webcams in the Cortina area but they
         | seem to have a lot of clouds. Some of which appear to have a
         | pink hue.
        
           | bonzini wrote:
           | Light pollution does not help, probably.
        
             | davidw wrote:
             | Found one from the Stelvio pass that shows some colors, but
             | nothing like some of the other links people are posting.
        
       | davidw wrote:
       | Nice way to celebrate the Giro d'Italia!
        
       | amatecha wrote:
       | Wow! Check out the view from the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland!
       | https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/live/webcams/#webcam-jungfrauj...
        
       | crdrost wrote:
       | Nice livestream from a bloke on YouTube:
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTxvAQYKGPI
        
       | consp wrote:
       | Most of Europe == Not covered by light polution. (and specific
       | areas)
       | 
       | (it's orange outside and it's sodium vapor related)
       | 
       | edit: kind of whish I was at my parent's place. It's a lot less
       | poluted but no go here; nw europe densly populated, we also have
       | the artificial sunrise here 24/7 by means of greenhouses.
        
         | EA-3167 wrote:
         | Classic aurora move, I can almost hear the charged particles
         | now...
         | 
         | "Und doch habe ich allein, allein auf mich gestellt, ganz
         | Europa erobert!"
         | 
         | Sure you did charged particles, sure you did, but welcome to
         | Europe's secret weapon: Light pollution!
        
           | consp wrote:
           | > Sure you did charged particles
           | 
           | Well technically ... sodium vapor lamps are charged
           | particles. But yea you are correct we're screwed.
        
         | Starlevel004 wrote:
         | Even in the light polluted London you can still see it, even if
         | it's faint.
        
         | TomWhitwell wrote:
         | It's just about visible (much more so through an iPhone camera)
         | in central London right now
        
           | consp wrote:
           | London is about half a degree further south of where I am and
           | a bit east and my phone is not picking it up. No iPhone
           | though (so who knows what AI is doing at the moment /s)
        
       | _fizz_buzz_ wrote:
       | Saw them in the west of Germany. Phone camera made them more
       | visible. But also clearly visible with the naked eye.
        
       | ChrisArchitect wrote:
       | More discussions on related NOAA posts:
       | 
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40315394
       | 
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40318356
        
       | docapotamus wrote:
       | I live in rural very northern England. It's incredible, clear
       | with the naked eye. iPhone 14 camera with 3s exposure is out of
       | this world (pun intended, but misleading)
        
         | jon_adler wrote:
         | Similar for me down south too (Cambridge). My first sighting
         | and it is superb.
        
         | AlexAndScripts wrote:
         | I'm near Bristol. It's still absolutely stunning. It's not just
         | to the north, either - it's everywhere.
        
       | mmastrac wrote:
       | The NOAA forecast suggests it'll be nearly as powerful as the
       | March 13th storm in '89 that took out the Quebec grid:
       | https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/aurora-dashboard-exper...
        
       | idontwantthis wrote:
       | Is there a map of the world showing where it should be visible? I
       | wonder how far I would need to drive.
        
         | nilsherzig wrote:
         | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40324332
        
       | marmakoide wrote:
       | Wow, I just went outside (South West of France) to plug the car
       | for charging before going to bed.
       | 
       | I noticed unusual, faint light patterns in the night sky, like
       | long spikes coming from the North. It was not the Milky Way, we
       | can see every clear night. Color was mostly gray slightly pink.
       | Wondered what was that ... My first aurora !!!
        
       | matsemann wrote:
       | Where do people get their forecasts? I often use this one, but
       | it's not very usable outside Norway. Great if you click into each
       | forecast (click the image) and get more details. Like how it
       | actually covers the sky in that location. So that I can use that
       | to plan (doesn't matter if it's strong if it's in a direction I
       | can't see it) https://site.uit.no/spaceweather/data-and-
       | products/aurora/os...
       | 
       | Used to use a NOAA page, but they changed it a while ago and
       | don't find it as useful anymore.
       | https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/aurora-dashboard-exper...
       | 
       | Some weather services also have a kp index, but I often feel
       | those can't be trusted, and don't tell the whole story. And
       | aurora is quite hit or miss, so need more updated data.
       | 
       | I have an app on my phone (AuroraNotifier) that chimes when
       | there's hope. And then I use these others to plan a bit better.
       | But some more interactive map akin to the uit.no one but where I
       | can place myself around would be nice.
        
       | NKosmatos wrote:
       | It's currently at Kp8. https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en.html
        
       | coryfklein wrote:
       | What latitude do we expect to be able to see this in the USA?
        
         | ceejayoz wrote:
         | Possibly as far south as Alabama.
         | https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/northern-lights-south-alabama-...
        
       | Rwyt wrote:
       | Well visible in central Switzerland:
       | https://feed.yellow.camera/rigi-scheidegg
       | https://feed.yellow.camera/rigi-rotstock
        
       | relyks wrote:
       | Are we supposed to be able to see anything in North America?
        
       | hnthrowaway0328 wrote:
       | In Quebec and eagerly waiting for the sunset. Ah a few weeks ago
       | the sun was the old lover and now please go away...
        
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       (page generated 2024-05-10 23:00 UTC)