[meteorite-list] Aurora Borealis Alert!!

From: meteorites_at_space.com <meteorites_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:44:44 2004
Message-ID: <20010331172347.8932.cpmta_at_c000.snv.cp.net>

On Fri, 30 March 2001, Ginger Mayfield wrote:

>
> Anne,
>
> It cleared here in Divide just in time for the most gorgeous
> aurora I've ever seen. Even made the snow glow a pinkish
> red.
>
> Ginger
>
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After reading this post I went outside to meet my wife and daughter returning from a friend's house. I told them that we had to go from Flagstaff's bright lights (not so bright) as there was an intense auroral display going on.

My daughter said "See, I told you mom, that something strange was going on in the sky. And she pointed up, almost directly overhead at a pearly green streamer, the sight of which I could plainly see. I was thrilled as I had always wanted to see an aurora, so we got into the car and went out of town. Immediately I saw that the San Francisco Peaks were outlined against a pearly blue green light. It was tremendous. We found a not to dark place, as it seemed everyone was out and about on that country road with their brights on. But even then we could see the glow. And there to the west was the most spectacular red glow I had ever seen, and streamers came and went in short order.

It was really something. And it must have been great for my daughter and wife as their night vision is much better than mine.

It was cold last night, and they wanted to go back home. After I dropped them off, I went to the dark skies of the Naval Observatory outside of town, and by the time I got there it was really spectacular. The SF Peaks were still clearly backlit with a greenish blue glow, and now the streamers projected almost a third the way up into the sky. The red glow was broad, and almost due west, and there was a bluish glow to the east. Then as a finale, a ray extended up from the east side of the peaks, and broadened into a whitish green curtain which in a matter of less than a minute turned into a red one with bright whitish green streamers extending up into the sky.

It was tremendous, and fulfillment of a wish that I would someday see such a sight (It does not happen very often here in Flagstaff, and the last time was in 1977, and I missed it)

If http://www.spacew.com; and http://www.spaceweather.com predict the same for tonight GO OUT TO DARK SKIES AND WATCH !

It is well worth it.

Steve Schoner
http://www.geocities.com/american_meteorite_survey

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Received on Sat 31 Mar 2001 12:23:47 PM PST