Okay, Chris, I did make an effort!

[Ann]

Some time ago I mentioned that I had never seen an aurora, and I was surprised at Chris' reaction of horror at this. Not having seen an aurora, is that such a big deal?

Well, last night was the night of the Solar storm, and I decided that at least I would make an effort to turn myself into a normal person who had seen an aurora. I had read at the DMI, the Danish Meteorological Institute, that there was a 35% chance of seeing an aurora over Denmark on the evening of January the 24th. And since I live just across the Strait of Öresund from Denmark, I reckoned I had a 35% chance of seeing it, too.

Of course the 35% chance probably required me to keep my eyes glued to the sky during the entire "window" of possible aurora viewing, that is, from between 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Not a chance that I would do such a thing! I had thought that I would look out my kitchen window now and then to see if anything was going on outside. But then I read that I had to find a dark spot away from streetlights. Oh, joy! Where do I find that in Malmö?

Yesterday I had taken a cab to the stars and taken the cabbie with me, too. But what could I do tonight? How about taking a cab and telling the driver to take me to the darkest spot in Malmö and drop me off there? Eh. I don't think so.

Click to view full size image

Click to view full size image

No, I would have to go somewhere within reasonable bicycle access that was as dark as I could make it and seemed safe and normal, too. I chose the Ribersborg beach facing the Strait of Öresund. The picture shows you Ribersborg by daylight. When I came from the brightly lit streets and suddenly saw these long wide stretches of grassy fields that are completely unlit by any streetlights, they seemed startlingly and somewhat scarily dark. I cycled to one of the bridges that you can see at the upper left in the picture and stood there, looking out over the Strait of Öresund.

As soon as I my eyes had adjusted, I could see that the spot I had chosen wasn't very dark after all. On my right was Västra Hamnen, the West Harbour, dominated by Turning Torso, prettily decked out in white and red lights. It really looked prettier and more full of lights than in does in this picture. Also, I could see a lot of colorful neon lights in Västra Hamnen. And it was as if the whole West Harbour was encased in a dome of dull brownish light of light pollution. And across the Öresund is Copenhagen, and I could see a dome of light pollution on the other side of the Öresund, too.

As I stood there on the bridge, I became aware of how lonely the place was and how strangely alive it was at the same time. The night itself seemed alive. I could hear the constant murmur of the water around me, of course. And as I looked at the horizon, it seemed completely alive with flashing, blinking, pulsating lights. Blue lights (I liked those), green lights, red lights, yellow lights, white lights. Flashing and blinking at different beats. What were they? Lighthouses? Some other kinds of lights in the water or along the Swedish and the Danish coastline? Light signals from the Kastrup Airport just across the Öresund? A huge photoelectric sea monster, stranded in the shallow waters of the Öresund, panting and blinking its distress at me?

The sky rose uninterrupted almost all around me, and I could Venus sinking slowly in the west to the left of me, becoming ever yellower as it did so. Jupiter stood high in the sky on the left behind me. Almost right ahead of me, just slightly to the right, was Polaris. The Big Dipper hung to the right of it, its handle hanging down. To the left was the handsome outline of Cygnus and the pretty bluish light of Vega.

But the sky was abuzz with airplanes, too, airplanes on their way to or from Kastrup. They were too far away to make any sound, so they sailed like silent, glittering birds in the sky. Often they looked just like a star, so it was as if some of the stars "had come loose" from "the firmament of the sky", as if the entire sky had come alive. Planes flew above and below Venus as if they were courting her. Another plane flew in an elegantly curving line from Mizar and Alcor to Alkaid in the handle of the Big Dipper, as if the Dipper had spouted an extra star that was moving, too.

It was almost hypnotic to stand there alone in the (relative) darkness being completely surrounded by the night and the lights and the sounds and the stars and the airplanes flying like birds in the sky. The only thing I didn't see was the aurora.

But at least, Chris, I can say that now I have made an effort to see one.

Ann

[orin stepanek]

Ann here is an Aurora for you! The picture was taken in Sweden. I predict some day you will see one for real.

Click to view full size image

[Chris Peterson]

But at least, Chris, I can say that now I have made an effort to see one.

The first aurora I saw I was somewhat north of you, either in Sweden or Finland, I don't recall which (a border town). I was not looking for it, not even considering the matter. I simply looked up and saw the impressive curtains of light moving around. With solar activity increasing over the next year or two, and your northerly location, there is every reason for you to expect to see an aurora- by design or by accident- if you have the chance to escape the worst of the city lights.

(I saw the aurora in Colorado a couple of nights ago. Not an impressive one, but some faint green structure rising halfway up the northern sky, and some flickers of movement.)

[Ann]

Thanks for the aurora, Orin! It's got some blue in it, too!

And thanks for the advice and the prediction, Chris.

Ann

[geckzilla]

Seduce the cabbie and go watch the aurora in the country together?

[Ann]

Seduce the cabbie and go watch the aurora in the country together?

I'll think about it.

Ann

[geckzilla]

[neufer]

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

Seduce the cabbie and go watch the aurora in the country together?

I'll think about it.

Ann

[Beyond]

I see that someones been watching toooo many Marx Brothers movies lately. YEE-HAA!!

[TNT]

Where do you get these smilies
This one gives me the creeps...kinda looks like it's trying to bribe someone in a bad way.

[Beyond]

When you make your posts, you see the smilies on the right. Just below them is-->view more smilies<---, click on that. What pops up may cover where your smilies will be going, so you have to remember how many times you clicked. Each click on a smilie will give you one smilie. Up to the the limit, of course. You should already know that putting your cursor on the smilie will tell you about the smilie.

[TNT]

When you make your posts, you see the smilies on the right. Just below them is-->view more smilies<---, click on that. What pops up may cover where your smilies will be going, so you have to remember how many times you clicked. Each click on a smilie will give you one smilie. Up to the the limit, of course. You should already know that putting your cursor on the smilie will tell you about the smilie.

Actually, I meant where the administrators/moderators get the smilies from. Do they make them up? Or maybe phpBB already has them?

[bystander]

It's all geckzilla's fault.

[Beyond]

Lets hear it for the smiliezilla YEE-HAA!!

[geckzilla]

Oh, I make most of the new ones. Some of them, like and are from unknown sources. Most of the ones above the "view more smilies" link are default phpBB ones, with the exception of which I added because I don't think everyone smiles with their teeth.

[Ann]

Art, I didn't thank you for your video. I loved it, though, so thanks!

Ann