Topic: Aurora Borealis visible tonight

[JohnN]

Thanks to a solar flare from Thursday, the Aurora Borealis will be visible tonight in NJ, around 8 PM. This link has a map showing where the best opportunity to view it is. http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/04/new-jersey-has-prime-seats-tonights-aurora-borealis/64202/

[JohnN]

Well I haven't been able to see them. I was out there about 8 PM, and there was nothing. Now the sky is just one big cloud. I never get to see fun things like this.

[tbern]

sorry to hear about your clouds, murphy's law strikes again 

[Scalphunter]

You will find that aurora watching is much better around midnight generally an hour either side of it and then it gets active again around 3 am up to sunrise. This from my experiences in observing it

John

[tbern]

John,  sure would like to see it the way it is visible to you.  looks very nice when they show it on tv, but can't imagine how great it looks in person.

[JACK10562]

You can check if there is going to be a viewing opportunity for your location, the red view line indicates where it might be visible from:
http://helios.swpc.noaa.gov/ovation/

or this, where there is yellow/orange it should be viewable:
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/pmap/

Lastly, if it's obscured by clouds, it's game over! You can check sky observation conditions in your area:
http://cleardarksky.com/csk/index.html

(or just go outside!)