IPS AURORA ALERT

[Lert]

I've known about Roger Groom's work for a number of years. His work is worth a look if you are interested in photography and/or astronomy.

http://www.rogergroom.com/

[Blue Skies Profile]

I've known about Roger Groom's work for a number of years. His work is worth a look if you are interested in photography and/or astronomy.

http://www.rogergroom.com/

I'm a good friend of Roger's, we share an interest in astronomy and have worked together trying to do some occultations as well as general observing and astrophotography. He just had an exhibition of his work on up at the Gravity Discovery Centre during June and July, but most of what was on display would also be on his website, I would think.

On the subject of aurorae, I wouldn't get too excited about most warnings we get, its got to be a pretty big event for us to see it from Perth, we're too far from the magnetic pole - NZ and Tasmania are much closer and have a better chance for minor events like the last one. If you want to keep an eye on possible activity I use these sites as a guide:

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/rt_plots/kp_3d.html if its hitting 7 then I think about going out and having a look

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/pmap/ this one will show you how close any activity is to us. Remember the best time to see them is around midnight.

http://www.portaltotheuniverse.org/ This one has some good links down the sides, including the ones above.

And dont forget http://www.spaceweather.com/ for prior warning of possible events.

[@weather_wa Profile Website]

Someone over on redbubble managed to get a shot of the Aurora from Albany:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/paulmp/ ... -australis

[floppy Profile]

I'm a good friend of Roger's, we share an interest in astronomy and have worked together trying to do some occultations as well as general observing and astrophotography.

That's interesting ...
I used to belong to the Auckland ( NZ ) Astronomical Society
was just starting to get right into astro-photography and then I got married
having kids squashed any ideas about buying expensive equipment

I still like to have a peek at the night skies sometimes...

Nev

[Blue Skies Profile]

Astronomy and weather go together quite well, there are a few people out there with an interest in both.
Roger only got married last year, no kids yet, but he's had several years to get some serious gear together. I'm not quite as dedicated in the astrophotography dept, I tend to just dabble with widefield tripod shots, whereas Roger has the fully automated CCD rig set up.

The shot from Albany in the link above was interesting. Looks like it was pretty faint though, only the camera saw it, not the eye.

[@weather_wa Profile Website]

The person that posted the photo said that they could see the Aurora with their eyes but wasn't as bright as what came out in the photo though, so I'm guessing it would have been hard to see, and definitely not bright enough for us to see here in the Perth metro area with all the light pollution.