Space weather- Arouras on the way

[jlbvt]

Hi there. I am not an astrology buff, but I do like to keep track of what's going on with the sun and planets. Here is an update from spaceweather.com:

Space Weather News for April 10th, 2003
http://www.spaceweather.com

AURORAS: Earth is entering a solar wind stream flowing from a large
coronal hole on the Sun. Sky watchers should remain alert for
auroras. The
best viewing sites will be at high latitudes: e.g., New Zealand,
southern
Australia, northern Europe, Canada, Alaska and other northern US
states
like Wisconsin and Michigan. Forecasters say there is also a 10%
chance of
severe geomagnetic storming at middle latitudes.

JUPITER AND THE MOON: The waxing quarter Moon could make faint auroras
hard to see. But it's still worth looking because on April 10th the
Moon
and Jupiter will be pleasingly close together in the night sky. Visit
SpaceWeather.com for sky maps and more information.

 

[stardancer]

I like looking at the planets at night, but you need to be rural for that as city lights make the night sky grey. It's no wonder the ancients made gods in the sky, when you get out and look up and see nothing but a mass of stars and the Milky Way it's pretty awe inspiring.

Anyone who hasn't had a look at a moonless night sky far away from the city, I'd say it would be worth your while to take a road trip.

A few years back I saw Venus, Jupiter, Mars in the early evening sky. It was pretty cool. Jupiter is actually easier to see than Mars and looks like a large, pale yellow globe. Mars is a little speck of red and Venus glows greenish. With Jupiter close to the Moon tonight (64% phase here), I'm not sure you could see it very well. Moonless nights are best for sky viewing.

I saw a very pale aurora once in northern Iowa, but there were no colored lights, just a white haze in the low northern sky.

I also saw a bizarre green flash in the night sky once. I was coming home around 11 and don't know what it was. Maybe space aliens or something.