frogesque

Sorry folks, it's a no show so far Guess that's what keeps us all going!

Heads up! There seems to be a hint of NLC in the NNW region of the sky tonight. The structure is quite fine and very faint although the elevation is reasonable up to about 30deg. Going to stay up another hour or so to see if anything better develops.

Too much cloud to see anything usefull although there is a hint of 'something' above the murk. Keep the great photos coming cos it looks like that's all I'll see tonight B)

Been tipping dowm all night here so no joy for me. Enjoy the show while you can folks!

Great pics folks, hope these of mine are better than last ones I took! Edit: display seems to be fading rapidly now

Pocket digi on available light setting so pretty rubbish shots, there is a lot more detail than shown - setting up the SLR as we type! B)

Been waiting up as the sky looked good for tonight - seems like an excellent display right now! Going to try for some pics!

LadyP: That makes sense on one level. However, during years of high sun activity the Earth's upper atmosphere is puffed up (technical term ) considerably higher so it should make for higher NLCs that could be seen further south than than the 'normal' 50 -60 deg lat. band. Another aspect that might have to be considered is whether they are related in any way to upper atmosphere containing sulphur compounds from volcanic activity (especially those in the Arctic such as Alaska's Kasatochi that erupted in late August 2008 and produced the weird sunsets around that time) At the moment I still lean towards the 'grass' theory but I really don't know the answer I'm going away for a few days but I'll try to keep up if t'other 'arf will let me near a 'puter

Phil: Fascinating but I don't want to hijack this thread so I've started anther in Space Science and Nature http://www.netweather.tv/forum/index.php?showtopic=55494

Consider the recent beautifull displays and this photo taken on July 11th. 2005 (Milnathort, Kinross). At the time I was hoping to catch a glimpse of aurora (unusual during summer months because of the shot period of darkness) since an Earth directed coronal mass ejection (CME) was due to arrive. This is another absolutely stunning display that ended with crepuscular rays showing through the pre dawn sky. (I've forgotten when it was taken but it was a few years ago, if I can find out I'll let you know). NLCs are fairly common at this lat. during the summer months and whilst I can't deny the rececent displays have been great they aren't that rare. A few theories exist as to why they seem to be more prelevant at the moment and these range from high level polution from jet and rocket exhaust, sunspot activity (or lack of it) to them being just a normal part of Earth's fascinating variation. So, What are the leading theories of board members? Are more folk looking therefore we see and hear more reports or are they a portent of impending doom? Be creative, (but polite as always!)

Personally I don't think there's that close a correlation with sunspots and solar min. I have photos of NC clouds from a night after a CME about 5 years ago and aurora were expected. Absolutely no chance of capturing anything though glowing clouds NC clouds have always been a bit of the summer furniture at my Lat. but I think there is a lot more interest in them now so more folk are seeing them. A bit like looking at grass- you never 'see' it unless you look.

Looked as if there was a pretty good display again last night. Lots of detail with luminescent patches of 'mackrel sky' but spoiled by low black clouds rolling. Also cold and windy so I didn't go out with the camera.

Another one from last night, taken just after midnight Some fantastic pics from everyone, glad we all got a display at last <_< Thanks for the heads up karr999

Display getting even better, covering a huge area of the northern 1/4 of the sky. Sadly I have to go to bed

Spot on Mr Data! Just snapped this from the front door Edit: Canon D60, Sigma 20mm 1:1.8 lens, exposure 0.5 sec. Yep, it's a beast of a lens!

Nice one Storm! Was hopeful of a sighting here yesterday but the clouds rolled in at dusk and it was heaving it down during the night. Still chucking it down now! Hint: with the long exposure you seem to have a bit of camera shake. If you use a tripod and either a shutter release cable or a delayed shutter opening it will help keep the camera stable. Brilliant for a first attempt though

Saw two Painted Ladys this afternoon while working at Milnathort, Kinrosshire. One looked a bit frayed as if it had travelled a good distance, the other one didn't look as if it had suffered quite so much but obviously hadn't just emerged.

Just so's you know what your looking for! (Note: this was taken in Sept 06 and would have been a local brood)

Spotted oustside the front door a couple of days ago.

Ah! but solar mins are very frustrating for aurora freaks like me. I realise it's a magnificent chance to study the quiet sun and draw up a baseline for future comparison but would a teensy weensy X20 flare directed straight at us hurt?

Frustrating or what? Maybe we've just skipped cycle 24 and gone straight to 25

Nice flare just popped off! Probably not Earth directed though. Can't find any data on what category it is yet. SOHO C3 SOHO C2

American site but readable with some good info http://www.mdvaden.com/mistletoe.shtml Like any weed, stop light falling on the green twigs and leaves and keep pruning any growth back and it will weaken the unwanted growth and eventually kill the plant. The host tree, if otherwise healthy shouldn't suffer unduly from a single pant but it readily propagates so you have to be vigilant and prevent an infestation swamping the host tree

Can't remember where but I've seen a reference that suggests the auroral oval is somewhat distorted by the Eastern seaboard of the Canadian/American landmass. The idea seemed to be that the mineral content of the Earth's crust causes perturbations in the magnetic field. It also has to be remembered that the auroral oval follows the Earth's magnetic poles not the geographic north and south poles and this does favour Canada and Alaska rather than Northern Europe.

Taken a couple of weeks ago on 23rd. Nov. Looking South over the Firth of Forth from Kirkcaldy Rain/snow falls from clouds then gets caught up in a differing wind direction, finally evaporating before it reaches the ground.