Those northern lights
December 9, 2006
We lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at about 42 degrees north latitude, for a time in the 60s. At the peak of the eleven-year sunspot cycle we occasionally were treated to aurora displays in the northern skies. At spaceweather.com you can learn all about it and see what the “northern lights” look like.
Looking for a Christmas present for that scientific-minded geek on your list?
Spaceweather PHONE is an astronomy alert service from the creators of Spaceweather.com. Sign up for our service –for yourself or as a gift for someone else– and we’ll phone you when things are happening in the sky.
When auroras appear over your hometown, your phone will ring. When the space station is about to fly over your back yard, your phone will ring. When planets align … you get the idea. The voice you hear will be Dr. Tony Phillips telling you what to look for and when.
Each phone call comes with a simultaneous email message, so if you miss part of your call or can’t remember the details–just check your email for the full story!
If you lived in Finland, here’s what you would have seen last night:
This is but one of the many spectacular photos in the gallery at SpaceWeather.com. Much better than the Fourth of July, yes?
Dave, thinking that he would much rather view aurora from the tropics via Internet.
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5 Responses to “Those northern lights”
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beautiful
Gorgeous! I’ve always wanted to see the Northern Lights. I didn’t realize you could see them in Iowa.
Remarkable, but have never seen them here in CR. Any takers for a trip to Sweden? Linda
Leslie, it was past your beddie-bye time. Yours, too, Linda, come to think of it. Larry says he vaguely remembers the back yard, but not much else.
Gee, do you suppose I just dreamed that?
I’ll never tell.
No, you didn’t dream it dad!!! I saw them last Wednesday night. It was all over the news to go out and watch the great meteor showers. I SAW a greenish yellow flash just like the picture above, only with a much shorter tail. As in… Kim missed it and insisted it was a plane. Then I talked to a friend who was out Wed night at around same time and saw an aurora too, she had to talk to Kim. Still better in Sweden I’m sure. Or South Dakota. You pick. Some long time Cedar Rapidians, especially those who lived out in the country, say they do show here once in a great while.