Updated: August 20, 2006

Beth's Annotated Aurora-Related Links

• Solar Terrestrial Dispatch - traffic lights, image gallery, aurora discussion forum
  http://www.spacew.com/
• ACE spacecraft data - realtime data in one plot (choose Dynamic Plots)
  http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ace/
  2-hour plot: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ace/MAG_SWEPAM_2h.html
  3-day plot: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ace/MAG_SWEPAM_3d.html
• MBK Team Aurora - a bunch of visual data collected on one page
  http://www.orion-drustvo.si/MBKTeam/auroramon.html
• NOAA'S Aurora Viewing Tips - find geomagnetic latitude, get a sense of where aurora can be seen
  http://www.sel.noaa.gov/Aurora/
• NOAA's Space Environment Center's explanation of the aurora - 4-page PDF should be read by new aurora seekers
  http://www.sel.noaa.gov/info/Aurora.pdf
• Wikipedia article on aurora
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(astronomy)
• National Space Science Data Center geomagnetic location calculator - a more precise calculation but read the description
  http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/space/cgm/cgm.html
• NORDLYS Northern Lights Photography - easy to use hints for photographic newbies
  http://www.northern-lights.no/english/articles/2003_03_photographing.shtml
• NCAR's Physics of the Aurora course - learn at various levels, starts simply, gets very technical
  http://meted.ucar.edu/hao/aurora/
• Atmospheric Optics - halos, light pillars, rainbows with explanations and pictures
  http://www.sundog.clara.co.uk/atoptics/phenom.htm
• Clear Sky Clock - local sky condition predictions - this is the general one (my bookmark is to the one nearest me)
  http://www.cleardarksky.com/csk/

Some other people added their favorites as noted below.

• Space Weather Canada's Real-Time Reports - accurate for all of Canada, Alaska, and northern US states.
  http://www.spaceweather.gc.ca/myservlet/forecast?station=vic&mapname=southwestern&version=eng
• Space Weather Canada's main page
  http://www.spaceweather.gc.ca/myservlet/geomag/forecast/main_e.jsp
• National Weather Service's Space Weather Now - FAQs on space weather, some explanations
  http://sec.noaa.gov/SWN/index.html
• Canadian Space Agency's CANOPUS - view of real-time auroral oval including FAQs
  http://www.sp-agency.ca/www/rtoval.htm
• Real-time weather data maps of various sorts
  http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/satellite/ and http://www.goes.noaa.gov/

[ Beth Katz ] [ CS 161 ] [ CS 162 ] [ CS 330 ] [ CS 420 ] [ Millersville CS ] [ Needlework ]