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aasmanijal OP t1_ja9pmz0 wrote

This was taken from Badger Mtn near Wenatchee at 1am. To the naked eye, it looked like faint greens and a dull red. And you could see the lights moving!

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ThePNWGamingDad t1_jab78zn wrote

My parents live north of Chelan in the mountains, and some nights I can see the aurora, and it’s like heaven.

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Ukinamtabbed t1_jacvzz2 wrote

I gotta know, is seeing the aurora in WA an all year thing?

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Dusty923 t1_jae4mk3 wrote

Aurora activity has nothing to do with the year or seasons on earth (although longer nights and clear skies help us see them). It's dependent on solar storm activity. We have satelites that monitor the Sun and it's weather. We even have solar weather forecasts that can predict aurora activity and locations.

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aasmanijal OP t1_jaepza0 wrote

It's true that they can be seen year round but aurora activity spikes around the equinoxes in March and September :)

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GinjaNinja55 t1_ja9r2ja wrote

Is there a resource somewhere that lets people know when / where the Aurora will be visible?

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aasmanijal OP t1_ja9wueu wrote

Yes! Follow Aurora Borealis Washington State on facebook

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samandiriel t1_jaa724n wrote

Is there anything similar for those of us who prefer not to engage with Facebook?

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zeledonia t1_jaan8vl wrote

spaceweather.com. If you’re really into auroras, you can subscribe to get text alerts when there are active storms. I knew about last night’s activity, but didn’t have time to get to a spot with dark and clear skies to see it.

The aurora is still pretty active right now. There’s more solar stuff incoming, tonight and possibly tomorrow could be good chances to see it.

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samandiriel t1_jaav9gf wrote

Thank you. Seems to be a pay-for service tho, and I am cheap!

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darlantan t1_jaatn7w wrote

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/

You can sign up for email alerts that will ping you whenever the geomagnetic K-index gets high enough. It tripped a few times last night.

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samandiriel t1_jaavme1 wrote

Thanks! I found it hard to navigate and understand how I would sign up for an alert when there would be aurorae in my area, tho - can you eli5?

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darlantan t1_jaawa5e wrote

It's not quite as simple as "There's an aurora in your area", more that it'll alert you when there's significant event that could generate them. There's a graphic on that page that shows aurora forecast plots.

As for alerts, you can follow the 'subscribe' tab along the top bar. You can select a lot of alerts, but what you probably only really care about are the very high K-index alerts. When you get one, check that page and look at the aurora forecast, and if it's dipping into or close to your location it might be worth going outside and looking north.

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aasmanijal OP t1_jaa9qfz wrote

There are aurora alerts apps, but I don't have personal experience with them. If I'm curious about the probability for the day of or the next day, I Google aurora forecast and the first few links usually give me an indicator. If the Kp is above 4, it's promising!

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WaxProlix t1_jab3wgc wrote

There's an app called Aurora that will push you notifications if you configure it to.

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pmiller61 t1_jacpjhf wrote

My Aurora forecast app is great!! It even gives notifications and you can set the location to anywhere!

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fenixjr t1_jac5qf2 wrote

Just as a heads up, it's somewhat of a short notice thing, and even then, some predictions can end up being a false hit.

What I'm saying, temper expectations. And assume you'll be disappointed on a decent amount of attempts. Make it an enjoyable experience besides if you catch the lights, so you don't just get discouraged from further attempts

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ScreamyPeanut t1_jaabkis wrote

There are some great aurora alert apps out there. Since I live on the west side of the cascades, I have all but given up on skywatching. Never seems to work out for me since I moved here 15 years ago. I live through others sky experiences now.

Thanks for the photo!

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fenixjr t1_jac5wy2 wrote

There was a big showing as far down into Washington in Nov 21. Spokane, where I was living, managed to get a great show.... But it just so happened I had to travel to King Co. that week and there was nothing but clouds to see on that side.

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True_Ad_5848 t1_jaa2whk wrote

So cool! My friends and I were going by Chelan last night and saw it as well

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NudesNudesNudez t1_jaa74k2 wrote

This is something I would put on my bucket list. If I ever get one

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FoxlyKei t1_jab70ci wrote

Will it be visible tonight too?

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lolomofo t1_jabdl4y wrote

That is so pretty! Really breathtaking. Thank you for sharing this pic.

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danm67 t1_jabmfkp wrote

I really want to see this in person someday!

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fraufrau t1_jabmkgp wrote

It was super strong in anchorage last night! Reds and greens!

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MingMah t1_jaaf5fu wrote

Indeed! when using an overexposure everything is visible from anywhere!

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aasmanijal OP t1_jaair0z wrote

This was a single shot exposed for ten seconds. Standard astro photos are exposed for thirty seconds. If we were limited to one second exposures, astrophotography wouldn't exist. 🙂 This was a particularly strong storm that was visible as far south as Nevada.

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MingMah t1_jaaj1pr wrote

30 seconds is way to long and causes streaking of stars, also you seemed to have missed the sarcasm in the previous post so il edit to /s to make it easier!

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aasmanijal OP t1_jaajs0v wrote

I do astro regularly. 30 seconds is too long if you're using a zoom lens, but with milky way photography and a wide angle lens, there's no noticeable streaking. I didn't miss your sarcasm. 👍

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