Go Outside, Look Up Right Now

[markharf]

Nicest aurora I've seen from my own well-lit neighborhood in Bellingham, that's for sure. Bright pulses crossing the entire width of the sky, mostly white but with hints of green. I was thinking about how the Inuit claim they can hear the aurora as a sort've a hissing sound, and how their old shamans were supposed to be able to converse with it, to summon it close. It's easy to believe in magical possibilities when the skies start to dance.

[carolyn]

We had a brilliant display of the northern lights on the way back from the crag today (only an hour outside of the city). Lots of white, green, purple, and pink. Even when I got home, in the city, we could see it (not as colorful) from my back yard. It was awesome!!!!

[stinkyclimber]

OK, for all you rocket scientists out there:

 

Can the solar flare or whatever caused all these northern lights fuck up satellites? I ask because I was just speaking with someone on Baffin Island who saw a satellite crash yesterday night at about 945PM, very near Iqaluit. Probably a coincidence, and I would have thought it takes a while for a satellite to crash after being screwed up by a flare, but just wanted to see if anyone knows.

 

It won't be in the news yet - the RCMP knows about it, and there are people out looking this morning, but this sort of news (well, any sort of news for that matter) takes a while to get picked up outside of Nunavut.

 

BTW - the northern lights were awesome here in Ottawa too. And they were apparently some of the best ever in Iqaluit.

[catbirdseat]

Solar flares can screw up the electronics of satellites and interfere with radio transmissions. Flares can't just throw satellites out of orbit. That was just a coincidence.

[Dru]

Hey smart ass - what if the electronics include motors and stuff You know it takes work to stay geo-synchronous.

[catbirdseat]

Geosynchronous satellites will stay in orbit dead or alive forever. Satellites in low polar orbit must expend fuel to maintain their orbit, otherwise the orbit will decay over a period of months until it burns up. In any case, a flare won't bring it down in a matter of only hours.

[Dru]

What if they expend all the fuel straight up and plunge straight down, eh?

 

You have heard of the "solar wind". This wind increases in force during solar flares and coronal mass ejections. Hell the solar wind speed last night was up to over 1000 km/sec.

 

Also the height of the atmosphere increases during magnetic storms, and increases atmospheric drag, which can drag down those satellites. It's like the tornado at the start of Wizard of Oz!

[Dru]

I was thinking about how the Inuit claim they can hear the aurora as a sort've a hissing sound, and how their old shamans were supposed to be able to converse with it, to summon it close.

 

The characteristic frequency of the aurora is right near the lowest level of human hearing. There is some data to suggest that up to 1% of humans actually can "hear" the aurora - not the actual aurora, but the sound wave produced by the solar wind hitting the atmosphere. It's kind of like the Taos Hum

[klenke]

Solar flares can fry satellite circuitry but they can't or don't have enough impetus to knock a satellite out of orbit.

 

I think geosynchronous satellites do drift somewhat over time due to tugging between sun, moon, earth and therefore need some thruster stabilization. Albeit, it's not much and nowhere near as mandatory as that of low orbit satellites.

 

Even satellites located at Lagrange points L4 & L5 probably require some thruster use to maintain position and/or orientation.

For the nerds among us who care, here's a little diagram I made from my files:

[Dru]

It turns out therre are a dozen or so competing theories on how the aurora can be heard. In Sweden they even claim to have finally recorded it.

 

Can humans actually hear aurora? Those ghostly fires that burn in the sky should certainly sounds like crackling campfires or the etheral waves of water crashing upon a celestial shore. Over 300 of these documented 'hearings' are known, not only by native peoples of the arctic regions, but trained scientists. These web sites tell this story and weigh many possible scientific theories that have tried to explain the perplexing impossibility of sound waves produced by aurora.

[klenke]

Did a little web search:

A page about the inventor of the geosynchronous satellite.

[catbirdseat]

Klenke, you know, we could have done the same thing too, if we were interested.

[Gary_Yngve]

Klenke, you know, we could have done the same thing too, if we were interested.

 

Jeez, cbs, you seem awfully cranky this morning. Give Paul a break. If he can't find legitimate work to do, he'll make up his own work.

[catbirdseat]

You are right, I was cranky, I'm feeling better now. Nothing that some lunch and some Vitamin I couldn't fix.

[Alpinfox]

It's cloudy in Seattle tonight.

 

Anybody live somewhere with clear skies tonight?

[snoboy]

[Dru]

I got some fog but it stops over by Cheam.. time for some NIGHT BIKING :ninja:

[EWolfe]

This is what I see:

 

 

 

[Skeezix]

Then go back inside and wipe the rain off your glasses...

[EWolfe]

Nah.

 

[Dru]

AURORA ALERT: If it's dark where you live, look for auroras now. A geomagnetic storm, sparked by two coronal mass ejections hitting Earth's magnetic field on Nov. 9th, is in progress.

And its clearing up

Plus more coming!

MORE EXPLOSIONS: Sunspot 696 has produced two more big explosions: an M8-flare at 1715 UT on Nov. 9th and an X2-flare at 0300 UT on Nov. 10th. At least one CME is heading for Earth as a result of the blasts. Stay tuned for details.

 

 

[Dru]

I saw it

[snoboy]

Hey Alpinfox... I think we can be friends again. Last night was full on!

 

I am so tired now though, we were up 'til 130 or so. Even when we went to bed, we could see it flashing out of the bedroom window. It was bright enough to cast shadows out in the dark place we went.

 

Best show I've ever seen. Flashing, pulsing, waves, curtains rays, colours, glow, basically the whole shebang! W000000000000t!