Can you see the northern lights from Scotland ?

[Pandabean]

I havent seen it yet, but Chance pointed out this useful website which lets you know if there is likely to be an aurora over the country.
Obviously its going to be less likely the further south you head.

http://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/

 

[DavidJT]

I havent seen it yet, but Chance pointed out this useful website which lets you know if there is likely to be an aurora over the country.
Obviously its going to be less likely the further south you head.

http://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/

See post 4

 

[Pandabean]

See post 4

Doh! Time to go back to bed I guess....

 

[DavidJT]

Doh! Time to go back to bed I guess....

Know how you feel
I fancy a go at that pop bottle detector

 

[Pandabean]

Yeh that pop bottle detector looks like an interesting project to try.

Maybe someting to try in the future.

 

[Soloman]

Only once ive seen them from fife,i think about 13 years ago.They were more monochrome like a moving barcode but spectacular to see.
Soloman.

 

[ged]

I remember reading somewhere that if the conditions are right you can see the northern lights from Scotland is that right ?

A friend of mine saw them in Oxfordshire a few years ago, I was really choked that I didn't catch them then. I think it must have been at the same time that another friend who lived in Kilry (Perthshire) said when she went outside it was "like being in a greenhouse full of lasers". That was when there was a marked high, er, spot in solar activity, the like of which we haven't had since. Anywhere with a high latitude should be good. I'm subscribed to 'aurorawatch'

http://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/

which sends email alerts when solar activity is high. Recently there hasn't been a lot though as the sun has been through an exceptionally quiet spell.

I bet there are more places to dig into this, maybe some of the astronomy forums will have information about when to expect more activity.

If you're thinking of an aurora hunting expedition Cliff, I'm interested.

 

[Dogoak]

I did see them in Dorset, a long time ago now. The displays we have seen up here have varied from 'spectacular' to 'is it or isn't it?' A lot of times we are unfortunately defeated by the weather.

As others have mentioned, the Lancs aurora watch is good, there is also this site....... http://www.pfrr.alaska.edu/aurora/index.html click on the map/globe at the bottom of the page.

Another good site here........... http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/pmap/

 

[mark]

I live in Forres near the Morayshire coast and often see them - normally a green shimmer across the sky. I used to work on a bit of kit that was basically a large, highly sensitive metal detector. At certain times of the year we struggled do maintenance as you would spend a whole day making adjustments and getting nowhere, and filling the paper recorders with lots of pen marks, due to magnetic interference, however it was always a good indicator that the Northern Lights would be seen that night. Solar storms seem to go in cycles, peaking every 7 years.

 

[dentsmithy]

Seen them a couple of times here in Dent, Yorkshire dales

 

[Toadflax]

A friend of mine saw them in Oxfordshire a few years ago,

That may well have been in around 1988-1992, 'cos that's when we saw them in Oxfordshire. An amazing display, particularly so far south.


Geoff

 

[Nonsuch]

I would love to see them here at home in Perthshire. Saw them many years ago but in Jukkasjarvi, Northern Sweden.

 

[torc]

Not quite Scotland but this looks like a nice place to enjoy the northern lights from.
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/glass-igloos-northern-lights-views
Happy trails...torc.

 

[Twodogs]

Good stuff
Cheers

 

[Miyagi]

My son and I saw them when driving to Livingston a few years back.

I thought it was a smear on the windscreen and reached for the shammy to give the screen a dicht then realised...

We pulled in and watched them fade and twist for about half an hour, amazing to see.

Liam

 

[Trunks]

There is a strong chance - with the latest solar activity - that you can see them tonight

 

[Pandabean]

*cough* saw them the other night *cough*



Keep watching the websites, seems to have gone quiet but one of the sunspots has a 25% chance of releasing another flare over the next few days

AR1302 has quieted down since unleashing dual X-flares on Sept. 22nd and 24th. Nevertheless, NOAA forecasters estimate a 25% chance of more X-flares during the next 24 hours. Any such eruptions would be Earth-directed as the sunspot crosses the center of the solar disk.

http://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk

http://www.spaceweather.com/

 

[Dirty Karlos]

They were visible in Lincolnshire a couple of days ago, they made local news! Crazy times.

 

[locum76]

I saw them cycling home from a pals house when i was fifteen (i fell off me bike) and once in Edinburgh.