[Ips-aurora-sightings] Aurora sighting

[anonymous]

Hello Arthur

Many thanks for the sighting. I mentioned southern Tasmania auroral 
sightings overnight in our daily report.
http://listserver.ips.gov.au/pipermail/ips-sf/2013-May/000573.html

The reason for this particular aurora was geomagnetic activity from a 
long (~24 hours) period of southward interplanetary (solar) magnetic 
field. When that happens the interplanetary field merges with the Earths 
geomagnetic field and a lot of solar wind energy is transmitted down the 
magnetic field lines into the polar upper atmosphere. So it was low on 
the horizon as it was located towards Antarctica.  The green colour is 
from atomic oxygen energy transitions at ~200km altitude. The pink/red 
at the bottom is from higher energy particles getting down to about 
110km altitude and causing energy transitions in other molecules like NO.


Cheers
IPS duty forecaster
Dave Neudegg


On 05/02/2013 08:47 AM, Arthur Sale wrote:
>
> I believe my wife and I saw an aurora low in the sky today 1 May 2013 
> at about 04:30 Australian Eastern Standard Time, roughly SSW. It was a 
> green glow about 5-10° above the horizon, with pink tinges low down. 
> The sky was clear of cloud, and we could see the Southern Cross and 
> the Milky Way. The air was still; and Mt Wellington had frost/snow on 
> it this morning.
>
> Arthur Sale
>
> Howrah, Tasmania
>
> 42.90038°S, 147.4138°E
>

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