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Aurora forecast - is it possible?
Astronomy

Aurora forecast - is it possible?

Author: MozaicNook

This helps travelers choose the best time to visit locations where the Aurora can be seen, thus increasing their chances of a successful sighting. To decide on places with few lights and clear sky that are most likely to have good views of aurora (low light pollution, clear skies).

There are several ways and sources through which the occurrence of northern lights can be predicted. Forecast depends on solar activity observations, geomagnetic activity observations, weather reports; check out some vital sources and tools for making aurora predictions:

NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center

NOAA as an organization gives forecast about geo magnetic activities such as indicators of Aurora visibility. They have a 3-day forecast for auroras in their website.

NOAA Aurora Forecast

Alerts and apps for Northern Lights

Many applications available online as well as websites give real-time updates on expected occurrences of Aurora. Some examples include “My Aurora Forecast”, “Aurora Alerts”, “Aurora Forecast” and “Northern Eye Aurora Forecast”.

SpaceWeatherLive

It provides detailed information about current solar and geomagnetic activity including predictions of auroras.

Institutes and observatories

Most countries having regions where the northern lights happen have their own institutions or observatories that make forecasts or offer local information relating to this topic. These include NORS (Norwegian Centre for Space Weather), Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Finnish Meteorological Institute.

KP index

It tells us about the level of geomagnetic activity using a scale called KP index. It ranges from 0-9 whereby high numbers mean higher activities hence greater probability to see the northern lights. Usually, if KP is 5 or more then it means you can see northern lights much lower than usual.

Live web camera locations

Some sites broadcast live feeds from cameras located at locations commonly visited by those who want to view the NorthernLights regularly. This can help assess the current conditions. For example, webcams from Abisko, Tromsø, and Fairbanks.

Aurora forecasts are not 100% reliable due to various factors affecting visibility, such as local weather conditions and clouds. However, using these resources can significantly increase your chances of successfully observing this spectacular phenomenon.

 

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