Astroblog: Aurora Watch issued for April 20-21 (Easter Sunday-Monday)

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Aurora Watch issued for April 20-21 (Easter Sunday-Monday)

The Australian IPS has issued both a geomagnetic alert and an Aurora Watch for April 20-21. Tasmania, Southern New Zealand, and possibly southern Victoria, southern WA and the North Island should be on the lookout for Aurora from around astronomical twilight (and hour and a half after sunset) on the 20th until twilight on the morning of the 21st. At the moment it is most likely that any serious geomagnetic storm, and hence aurora, will occur after midnight in the early hours of the morning of the 21st, but the solar wind streams might arrive early, of the combination of the two CME events may ramp up activity early.

However, the waning but still bright moon rises around 22:00 on the 20th and will interfere with seeing any aurora (although we have some recent good aurora seen under full Moonlight), and dark sky sites have the best chance of seeing anything.

SUBJ: IPS AURORA WATCH ISSUED AT 0001 UT ON 19 Apr 2014 BY IPS RADIO AND SPACE SERVICES FROM THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE FORECAST CENTRE Two Coronal Mass Ejections, the first slow and weak but the second faster and stronger are expected to impact the Earth. The first is expected sometime after midday on the 20th of April AEST, with the second expected around midnight on the 20th. Note that arrival times are generally uncertain by +/- 6 hours or so. The first event on its one would not warrant an aurora watch however the second would in its own right and the combination of the two may amplify the effects of the second. Auroral activity visible from Tasmania and possibly further north in Australia is expected from this event, should the arrival time coincide with local nighttime as anticipated. Aurora alerts will follow should favourable space weather activity eventuate.

Labels: aurora