Katrine Basso

My pre-snow traditions are: Watch past UK and Ireland snow videos of the winter of February 2009 Wear my pyjamas back to front and inside out Put a metal spoon underneath my pillow Do a snow dance by running anti-clockwise around a table Pray for snow Plant wildlife friendly shrubs, wildflowers and tress in my back garden

Daily Sun: 06 Feb 21 Current Stretch: 2 days 2021 total: 19 days (51%) The Radio Sun 10.7 cm flux: 73 sfu

MIND-BENDING AURORAS: Usually, when aurora tour guide Marianne Bergli sees mind-bending auroras over Tromsø, Norway, she is surrounded by clients. Last night, she was all alone. "The lights were incredible--just fantastic," she says. "And I enjoyed the display all by myself."

AURORA SURPRISE: A stream of solar wind hit Earth on Jan. 25th. The impact sparked an unexpected G1-class geomagnetic storm. "Suddenly, the whole sky was moving and dancing. It felt like aurora was hitting us with a hammer onto the head," reports Markus Varik, who sends this picture from Tromsø, Norway:

GREEN OCEAN SPRAY: There's a first time for everything. Aurora tour guide Marianne Bergli of Tromsø, Norway, has seen just about every shape, form and colour the Northern Lights have to offer. But over the weekend she witnessed something new. Green ocean spray:

INTERPLANETARY SHOCK WAVE SPARKS AURORAS: Surprising forecasters, an interplanetary shock wave hit Earth's magnetic field on Jan. 11th. The impact just after 08:30 UT did not trigger a geomagnetic storm. However, strong magnetic fields downstream of the shockfront opened a crack in Earth's magnetosphere. Solar wind poured in to fuel a nice display of Arctic auroras:

ARCTIC AURORAS: "Spaceweather.com warned us of 'minor geomagnetic unrest and auroras around the Arctic Circle' on Jan. 10th--and the forecast was accurate," reports Rayann Elzein of Utsjoki, Finland. "At one point last night, the whole landscape turned green."

AURORA SURPRISE: There were no geomagnetic storms on Dec. 26th. So where did these auroras come from? "Last night, the Northern Lights made a remarkable appearance over Utsjoki in the far north of Finland," reports Rayann Elzein, who photographed the display in temperatures that plunged to -36

The latest snow coverage map: IMS Snow and Ice Products USICECENTER.GOV U.S. National Ice Center's Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS) section for daily Northern Hemisphere snow and ice products.

Space Weather by SolarHam WWW.SOLARHAM.NET

I got a lovely surprise this morning with the last remnants of fog and frost which must have been much denser earlier as I arose at 8 am. There was not a fog weather warning issued by the Met Office for Essex but not for Thurrock.

Here is the latest snow and ice map with some increase in ice and snow cover. Scandinavia is still lagging behind, hopefully it won't be long before it is covered in snow.

THE SOLAR WIND HAS ARRIVED: As predicted, Earth is entering a stream of solar wind flowing from a southern hole in the sun's atmosphere. First contact on Nov. 6th sparked bright auroras over Utsjoki, Finland

Latest snow and ice chart where the sea ice is slowly increasing

INCOMING SOLAR STORM CLOUD: A slow-moving coronal mass ejection (CME) is heading for Earth. Sort of. Most of the storm cloud will miss our planet, but the flanks of the CME could graze Earth's magnetic field on Nov. 1st, sparking geomagnetic storms and bright auroras around the Arctic Circle. Aurora alerts: SMS Text. AFTERNOON AURORAS: At this time of year in Utsjoki, Finland, the sun goes down at 3:45 p.m.--which means aurora chasers get an early start. "Yesterday when I looked outside 5.00 p.m., there was already a nice green band in the sky," reports Rayann Elzein. "I immediately got dressed and rushed the the river bank, where the auroras exploded." This video shows the display in real-speed and real-colour.

THE SOLAR WIND HAS ARRIVED: Bright auroras are dancing around the Arctic Circle on Oct. 24 as Earth enters a stream of high-speed solar wind. "What we are seeing right now is easily the best of the entire month," reports Chad Blakley of Lights over Lapland. His automated webcam snapped this picture of the display:

Safe aurora tours: Thinking of a visit to Norway? Marianne's Heaven on Earth Aurora Tours has a 7-seater minivan for families who don't require social distancing. See the Northern Lights or take a scenic day tour. Book here GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH: NOAA forecasters say there is a chance of minor G1-class geomagnetic storms on Oct. 22-23 when a high-speed stream of solar wind hits Earth's magnetic field. The gaseous material is flowing from a northern hole in the sun's atmosphere. Bright auroras may be seen in Alaska, Canada, and the countries of Scandinavia. Aurora alerts: SMS Text. STRANGE RED AURORAS: Spoiler alert: We do not know the answer to this question. Where did all the red auroras come from? For much of mid-October, Earth's magnetic field has been very quiet. Extremely quiet. There should have been no auroras at all, yet around the Arctic Circle, photographers recorded scenes like this: Photographer Rayann Elzein of Utsjoki, Finland, took the picture on Oct. 17th. "I photographed similar displays on Oct. 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th," says Elzein. "On each occasion, geomagnetic activity was very low (with K-indices no greater than 0 or 1)." Red auroras appear when particles from space strike oxygen atoms near the top of Earth's atmosphere. However, as Les Cowley explains, the very slow atomic transitions which produce red photons in the aurora zone are easily interrupted. Even experienced observers rarely see them. Elzein has been chasing auroras in Finland for 10 years. He prides himself on going out in all conditions--even when geomagnetic activity is nominally low. "I can't recall ever seeing so much red on top of the green layer before," he says. In Tromsø, Norway, aurora tour guide Markus Varik had a similar experience. "Activity was extremely low on Oct. 17th when pink and red colors appeared. After years of guiding, I have never seen anything similar to this."

STRANGE RED AURORAS: Spoiler alert: We do not know the answer to this question. Where did all the red auroras come from? For much of mid-October, Earth's magnetic field has been very quiet. Extremely quiet. There should have been no auroras at all, yet around the Arctic Circle, photographers recorded scenes like this:

MORE RED AURORAS: "Is this the new normal?" wonders Rayann Elzein of Utsjoki, Finland. "For the second night in a row, we have photographed red auroras--an extremely rare event."

RARE RED AURORAS: Arctic photographer Rayann Elzein sees auroras all the time over Utsjoki, Finland. But the auroras he saw last night were different. "They were red," he says. "Almost only red." "Rarely have I seen anything like this before," says Elzein. "I double-checked the white balance on my camera to make sure nothing was wrong. But it was the same color temperature as on all my other northern lights pictures." "Later, we were treated to the usual swirls of green and even some pink nitrogen fringe," he says. "When the green swirls calmed down, the red returned." Auroras are normally green--the verdant glow of oxygen atoms about 150 km above Earth's surface. Rare red auroras are also caused by oxygen atoms, but at higher altitudes between 150 km and 500 km. At those heights, the temperature and density of the atmosphere favors atomic transitions that emit red photons. Indeed, Elzein's photos show red stacked on top of green just as theory predicts. For some reason, unknown to us, the solar wind on Oct. 12th excited oxygen at higher altitudes than usual, giving rare red auroras their chance to shine. Aurora

When October Goes - Barry Manilow

SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids SPACEWEATHER.COM Just as Varik headed out, a crack opened in Earth's magnetic field. Slow-moving solar wind poured through the gap, sparking auroras. This kind of unpredictable display can happen at any time around the Arctic Circle, where magnetic cracks often surprise observers--no solar storm required.

AURORAS WITHOUT A SOLAR STORM: Yesterday, there was no solar flare, no coronal mass ejection (CME), no solar activity of any kind. Then this happened:

I do not know if I am posting in the right place but the ice-covered Grímsvötn volcano on Iceland may be about to erupt. Grímsvötn: Iceland’s Most Active Volcano May Be About To Erupt WWW.IFLSCIENCE.COM The ice-covered Grímsvötn volcano on Iceland produced an unusually large and powerful...