Reckon it’s worth taking a drive out of London to spot the aurora?
this post was submitted on 10 May 2024
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Ex-astronomer nerd here. I would, unless light pollution is also a problem in the countryside. I saw the aurora twice when I was a teen. It was a long time ago, but definitely memorable.
Here in Ohio it's hard to find any place with dark skies. Even farmers have high output lights attached to every barn and outbuilding. It comes off as a bit paranoid on their part, but maybe there are roving gangs of werewolves that I'm not aware of.
If you do find a dark place, give your eyes 20 minutes to dark-adapt. Don't look at any terrestrial light directly and you'll find that the available light will be enough to get around. If you do need a flashlight (sorry - torch) you can cover it with a red film to avoid ruining your night vision. It does make a difference when star gazing.
Ex-astronomer
:(
The Standard has a London-specific article, which suggests it is guarantee in the North and could cover the whole country. So check your local weather maps (I use Wunderground) for a clear patch and give it a go.
Exciting stuff! Just an hour or two until it’s dark. Fingers crossed!
See you back here!
Update: Worth it, thanks for the tips everyone!
Took a drive out to a little town near Newmarket (Ousden) that seemed to be recommended as a stargazing spot. Top of a hill, hardly a cloud in the sky, sliver of a moon, and not even too cold. What a perfect night!
Even on an iPhone 13 mini without a tripod or any skill in photography we managed to get a couple of amazing snaps.
Finished up with some motorway services doughnuts on the way home in the wee hours.
Overall:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - would do it again.
Just go in knowing it likely will not be sheets of aurora like you see elsewhere but instead quick splashes of green hues. Still could be pretty cool though, hope you can see something!
That was incredible! Just back from getting up on the hills in Hertfordshire and the reds and green aurora visible to the naked eye were stunning.
Never thought I would see that in this country.
This could be useful: https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-30-minute-forecast Also, if you ever get the opportunity, go see the northern lights inside the arctic circle. Full colours across the sky is something else. It’ll be winter time for obvious reasons, and therefore typically cold as fuck, but definitely worth it.
Thanks for that.
A friend went on an excursion from northern Iceland, but I don't think he saw anything. My brother was working somewhere near Tromso.and was blown away.
https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/
Is a really good site. They even have an app that sends notifications
I've just been on that site. Lovely resource.
Just to manage expectations, the northern lights don’t look nearly as good in real life. They look like night clouds.
na not last night. that was fucking incredible!
Kinda like well defined clouds with a shape to them and emit light
I missed them, of course. They are set to return tonight but probably not as good.
BBC News - Northern Lights: Where to see them in the UK on Saturday night https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68995042
It says it'll hit "overnight", but surely in 2024 we can be more accurate than that?
Geomagnetic activity is already spiking and articles say it could be visible Friday and Saturday night, so "overnight" means all night but they reckon just after sunset and just before dawn should be the best displays.
edit: the Met Office video suggests 22:00 is a good time.
Awesome, thanks!
Never thought they'd be worth seeing this far down south (Midlands, bad light pollution), but was pleasantly surprised last night. Nothing compared to what I've seen up in Shetland but still amazing!