Northern Lights in Philly?

[dawei213]

Quality isn't great but I was able to capture these images outside of my house two nights ago around 9pm. They're not the northern lights, but light pillars. It's still pretty cool to see it.

http://davidwei.smugmug.com/photos/420733675_kUjY5-L.jpg

http://davidwei.smugmug.com/photos/420733944_8eubs-L.jpg

http://davidwei.smugmug.com/photos/420733794_xtLvh-L.jpg

http://davidwei.smugmug.com/photos/420734173_8Gqv2-L.jpg

[Nighthound]

Awesome shots!

I assume these are street/city light induced pillars? Too far past sunset and no Moon.

very, very cool.

[timeasterday]

Pretty cool. They mentioned these on Spaceweather: http://www.spaceweather.com/

[hobbes2112]

I saw Northern Lights onetime in very rural eastern Ohio. So it is possible down that low, but you'd have to go way out of town to do it.

[EricL]

That is more "Northern Lights" than I have seen!! Neat shot!

[Tumbl3w33ds]

I am jealous ;) Great shots!

[Celestron]

Well even tho they are NOT Northern lights they are still light pillars . I saw the same ones also at spaceweather.com today and they are still an astronomical event cause it deals with the atmospheric conditions . Nice shots !

[Canuck]

That is more "Northern Lights" than I have seen!! Neat shot!

Wow, that's surprising...I saw them in Sept, 2005 when I was up there. They were green and I was at the Walmart south of Dimond and Old Seward Hwy. I went down to Potters Marsh for a better look. It was cool! This wasn't much later than 2100. Weird.

Here's a link I use: http://www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/ and to watch it: http://salmon.nict.go.jp/awc/live/index_v_e.php as I am now in the lower 48.

[markjpcs]

Very cool!

[EricL]

Wow, that's surprising...I saw them in Sept, 2005 when I was up there. They were green and I was at the Walmart south of Dimond and Old Seward Hwy. I went down to Potters Marsh for a better look. It was cool! This wasn't much later than 2100. Weird.

Here's a link I use: http://www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/ and to watch it: http://salmon.nict.go.jp/awc/live/index_v_e.php as I am now in the lower 48.

They have really been quiet this year. I use that first site you mentioned and about 5 others. If 3 of them are saying they will be out, I'll head up the mountain. If it is a solar storm, I'll head north of town to get away from all the city lights. Potter Marsh is a pretty good place if they are at least a 5 on the Kp scale. Still hoping for some activity!

[Canuck]

They have really been quiet this year. I use that first site you mentioned and about 5 others. If 3 of them are saying they will be out, I'll head up the mountain. If it is a solar storm, I'll head north of town to get away from all the city lights. Potter Marsh is a pretty good place if they are at least a 5 on the Kp scale. Still hoping for some activity!

Duh! <--that was intended for me, Canuck, as we're on the bottom of the sunspot cycle. That just came to mind. I'm not entirely sure if we've hit rock bottom or not. It seems to me that you don't know till you get there. As you have seen the Kp has been low and there really hasn't been any sunspot activity to speak of.

[TekHouse]

Great shots!

[dawei213]

Duh! Forgot about this thread... =P

Yeah, it's definitely not the Northern light as that would be much higher in the atmosphere. They are light pillars as Celestron has pointed out. It was pretty cool to see all those pillars in the sky. It was like a scene out of a Superman movie back at Krypton.

[Jethro790]

I have seen Northern Lights out my backdoor in Southern NH, about two years ago.

Never knew about light pillars, very cool!

[black_z]

Awesome, whatever it is! :)