MetaFilter posts tagged with aurora

Ice and Lights

KevinSkomsvold — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:47:21 -0800

Anthony Powell is a photographer based in Antarctica. In addition to his photography, he's shot some excellent time-lapse video of the Southern Lights and a Day in the Life of Antarctica.

Caution or deception?

nax — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 07:24:44 -0800

A Planned Parenthood health center opened its doors to patients [in October], two weeks later than planned, after anti-abortion activists raised questions about how it received its building permits. Planned Parenthood is claiming victory, but :prolife/antiabortion: activitists are still smarting. But is the Aurora clinic just about abortions, or is it filling an unmet need in one of the largest population centers in Illinois? Illinois is ground zero for :prolife/antiabortion: activism

Auroras

MetaMonkey — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 18:57:40 -0800

Auroras have had many explanations throughout history. Now, science has answered many questions, thanks to spending a lot of time in Antarctica taking time-lapse films.

Big Auroral Show Coming Soon?

spock — Mon, 01 Aug 2005 07:49:30 -0800

Aurora (Northern/Southern Lights) are one of the most beautiful phenomena of nature. They are normally reserved for those who live nearer the polar latitudes. But occasionally, a massive solar X-Flare (animated) occurs when the "gun barrel" is pointed directly at earth. When that occurs, incredible aurora can be visible as far south as the the Arizona (N. Hemisphere) or as far north as New Zealand and Southern Australia (S. Hemisphere). (Another excellent gallery from May 1, 2005.) We have a good chance for such an event in coming days: Sunspot group 792 has a complicated magnetic field that harbors energy for powerful X-class solar flares. The chance of an Earth-directed explosion is increasing as the sun's rotation turns the active region more and more to face our planet. Stay tuned to spaceweather.com and monitor auroral activity or the latest solar events. See also: How to Find a Photograph Aurora.

Zombie car raised from dead

planetkyoto — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 08:19:23 -0800

The Aurora (mostly pictures, slightly more info here). One car, two men, three decades of rust. Guy buys truly hideous 1957 prototype car from junkyard, restores it to gleaming unsightliness. Conne_ticut?

Aurora Borealis

PrinceValium — Tue, 09 Nov 2004 10:42:10 -0800

Last night's aurora borealis was seen in, among other places, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Recent sightings are reported here, and lots of charts and graphs that I don't understand are here courtesy of the government.

AuroraWebcam

Feisty — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 09:19:11 -0800

AuroraWebcam run by 21 Troy Birdsall of Fairbanks, Alaska. Gorgeous video and photographs of the Northern Lights.

Class 3 Geomaganetic Storm Likely To Spawn Aurora

y2karl — Fri, 24 Oct 2003 13:42:56 -0800

Forecasters at the NOAA Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colo., observed two dynamic areas of the sun, one of which has produced a coronal mass ejection, or CME, Wednesday morning at 3 a.m. EDT that appears to be Earth-directed. The forecasters are predicting a strong geomagnetic storm, G-3 on the NOAA Space Weather Scales, that should reach Earth on Friday, October 24. Satellite and other spacecraft operations, power systems, high frequency communications, and navigation systems may experience disruptions over this two-week period. Auroras visible in the lower 48 states are possible tonight and tomorrow.

Fountain Pen Mania

MiguelCardoso — Thu, 01 May 2003 08:10:57 -0800

Keyboards Are Not Like Nibs: Fountain pens - or writing instruments in general - rule. Lately though, the main manufacturers have stooped to ballpoints, gels and other madnesses. Just as the stupid calligraphy fad killed proper handwriting, the main fountain pen manufacturers have been their own hangmen. I love Pelikan but my main hearbreak is Rotring, whose rapidograph 0.10 and 0.18 and isograph 0.20 (this latter line now sadly reduced to college sets) are my favourite scratching sticks. Are you holding a torch for any of those legendary manufacturers (Parker, Waterman, Cross, Schaeffer, Aurora, Lamy et caetera) who have gone down the drain? What glides your writing hand? Is the pseudish, unpardonably expensive and increasingly naff Montblanc the last pen manufacturer to uphold its own standards? When you do put pen to paper - if you still do at all - what's your stubborn choice? Damn it, you must use something to log into your Moleskine!

The sounds of the aurora.

Jimbob — Fri, 31 Jan 2003 07:24:10 -0800

Ever wondered what the Aurora Borealis sounds like? The northern (or southern) lights generate VLF radio waves as well as light. These sounds have been captured here as hundreds of free mp3 downloads, and they make amazing ambient soundtracks. Random clicks, whirrs, pops and whistles, direct from outer space. The site also features other "weather sounds" generated by lightning storms and such, and explains how you can get your hands on a VLF receiver to hear the sounds yourself.

kahboom — Thu, 27 Dec 2001 08:37:53 -0800

northern-lights is a site dedicated to the Aurora Borealis- the science behind it, lights-spotting, forecasts and historical interpretations. If you live in North America and don't want to miss it, take advantage of the Aurora Alarm, thanks to Mark Haun and his skywatching friends.

Sal Amander — Sat, 24 Nov 2001 01:04:38 -0800

SpaceWeather.com is predicting another aurora showing this weekend due to the sun erupting a coronal mass ejection toward earth on Nov. 22nd. Although I live in the far west Chicago suburbs, others around my area saw the wild aurora showings on October 28th and November 6th. I missed them both because I didn't know about these events (which is why I now subscribe to the SpaceWeather.com mailing list). Had I known, maybe I could have seen this, or this, or maybe this, all from around the midwest! One thing's for sure, I'll be outside this weekend. The sky is very busy this fall!

y2karl — Sun, 21 Oct 2001 13:18:02 -0800

Look to the skies, kids - Geomagnetic Activity Alert. Auroras anyone?

clockwork — Fri, 30 Mar 2001 22:59:10 -0800

Aurora Borealis... in Santa Fe, NM i'm up late writing a paper and chanced to look out the window, only to see red gaseous-looking clouds in the sky... I know it seems absurd to see the northern lights in the southwest, but this map almost makes it appear possible, probably because of the altitude... if i see four horsemen though, i'm running like hell.

webmutant — Sat, 23 Sep 2000 10:54:33 -0800

Child taken from parents over gender politics. Born Zachary Lipsomb, this six year old child has insisted since the age of two that she's actually a girl named Aurora, and her parents have tried to support her on this -- but the state of Ohio is convinced she's sick and needs treatment.

tiaka — Thu, 13 Jul 2000 06:53:59 -0800

Even though I've mentioned this, I should post a link. Even though solar flares are evil and will ultimatly bring down the human kind, they make for really cool night light shows.

Sky watchers should be on the lookout for aurora during nighttime hours for the next two days. The bright gibbous moon will hamper visibility of faint Northern and Southern Lights, but bright aurora may be visible in spite of the lunar interference. Usually, the best time to see aurora borealis (or aurora australis) is near local midnight.