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Observers report on aurora borealis
By Lee Siegel
Science Writer
posted: 03:00 pm ET
14 August 2000
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Many observers who watched last weekends Perseid meteor shower got an unexpected treat as a strong geomagnetic storm triggered spectacular Northern Lights visible across much of the United States and Canada Many observers who watched last weekends Perseid meteor shower got an unexpected treat as a strong geomagnetic storm triggered spectacular northern lights visible across much of the United States and Canada. "Just wonderful, and almost intimidating," said an observer in Lillooet, British Columbia. | Comments Inspired by Northern Lights | | Observers of last weekend's northern lights, or aurora borealis reported awesome sights, including multi-colored arcs, curtains and rays of light. . | In a report to the Auroral Activity Observation Network, the Canadian witness said the lights appeared late August 11 local time, forming beams and pulsating arcs -- and later, flickering, flashing and pulsating curtains."Amazing auroral activity and Perseids," the observer said. "By far one of the most beautiful shows I ever witnessed. Six hours of nonstop show. Just couldnt believe my eyes."The aurora borealis, or northern lights, are often seen in the far northern reaches of the planet. (In the southern hemisphere, this phenomenon is called the aurora australis, or southern lights.) The multi-colored arcs, curtains and rays of light emanate from streams of solar storms that collide with Earths magnetic field -- an invisible region of magnetic forces surrounding the planet. Awesome! An observer in Coupeville, Washington woke friends to enjoy the natural fireworks, and later reported: "I have lived in this town for 40 years and have never seen such a spectacular display. All I can say is AWESOME!" More than 160 aurora sightings late Friday August 11 and early Saturday August 12 were reported to the Auroral Activity Observation Network. Several observers claimed the lights were the most intense they had seen in decades. Most reports were from the northern United States and Canada. But there were enough from southern California, Nevada, Texas, New Mexico and Utah to indicate the lights also were visible in the southwestern U.S. One sighting was reported in Virginia. Several sightings of southern lights were reported from New Zealand. Geomagnetic storm The auroral activity was part of a strong geomagnetic storm August 11 and 12. The storm resulted from a change in orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field, and likely from the impact on Earths magnetic field of shock waves from August 9 and 10 coronal mass ejections of electrified gas from the suns outer atmosphere. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colorado rated the storm category G3, or strong, on a scale that runs from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme).NOAA Corps Lt. Eric Ort, a forecaster at the center, said the storm caused problems with a microwave communications system in Wisconsin, interfered with hand-held radiophones in upper Michigan, and threw off-kilter a Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, oil-drilling rig that uses navigation satellites to orient itself. Ort said he heard no reports so far of storm-related problems with power systems or satellites, but knew of aurora sightings near Las Vegas at Mercury, Nevada; in Estes Park, Colorado and in Wyoming. "Considering the magnitude of the storm, the amount of auroral activity was pretty surprising," Ort said. "We would not have thought we would have this much auroral activity." Southern sightings in the north The most southerly sightings in the Northern Hemisphere of the aurora borealis were from El Paso and Seminole, Texas, about 32 degrees north latitude; Lubbock, Texas and Anza, California, 33 degrees; Wrightwood, California, 34 degrees; Las Vegas, Nevada and Harrison, Arkansas, 36 degrees; Rio Rancho, New Mexico, roughly 35 or 36 degrees; Stokesville, Virginia, 38 degrees; Lucas Point Park, Kansas, 39 degrees; Fillmore, Utah, 38 degrees along with Emerald, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Champaign, Illinois at 40 degrees north. "Never saw a show like this," declared an Antioch, Illinois resident who posted a report. The observer saw meteors shooting through the auroral lights, which were visible as a diffuse glow, discrete arcs, rays and wavy pulsations. Another viewer saw the aurora as he was camped with 35,000 youths and scout leaders attending the Boy Scout Jamboral near Fillmore, Utah. " Meteor activity during this time was approximately 50 to 100 per hour," he reported. "I saw about five fireballs during this time as well."The Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin said the aurora was the best one seen there since 1991. It pulsated pale blue-green as "the meteor shower and one Perseid fireball made it even more spectacular," the observatory reported.
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