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For more than 15 years, a lone scientist in southern Finland has spent countless winter nights among the snowy fields and frozen lakes around his village, in pursuit of one of the most ephemeral mysteries of the heavens: the faint, almost phantasmagorical sounds heard during intense displays of the aurora borealis, or northern lights. The epic study by acoustician Unto K. Laine includes the first audio recordings of the muffled crackling or popping sometimes heard overhead during spectacular aurora displays. ... Laine has shown the sounds are real, and he thinks he has found what causes them: sparks of electricity...

Explanation: The Aurora Borealis or northern lights are familiar visitors to night skies above the village of Reine in the Lofoten Islands, Norway, planet Earth. In this scene, captured from a mountaintop camp site, the auroral curtains do seem to create an eerie tension with the coastal lights though. A modern perspective on the world at night, the stunning image was chosen as the over all winner in The World at Night's 2016 International Earth and Sky Photo Contest. Selections were made from over 900 entries highlighting the beauty of the night sky and its battle with light pollution.

Explanation: Early spring in the northern hemisphere is good season for aurora hunters. Near an equinox Earth's magnetic field is oriented to favor interactions with the solar wind that trigger the alluring glow of the northern lights. On March 28/29 the skies over Kaunispää Hill, Lapland, Finland did not disappoint. That night's expansive auroral curtains are captured in this striking panoramic view that covers a full 360 degrees. Local skywatchers were mesmerized by bright displays lasted throughout the dark hours, shimmering with colors easily visible to the naked eye.

Stargazers may be in for a rare cosmic light show this week as the northern lights dance across the night sky. Monday night and Tuesday night will both bring the chance for people in Canada and the northern United States to see the northern lights as an influx of charges particles from the sun interacts with the earth's atmosphere. People from New Hampshire to Nebraska will have the best conditions for viewing the aurora, with mainly clear skies expected on both nights.

As for place, Churchill, Manitoba and Tromso, Norway come to mind, but until the transporter is invented, most of will be staying closer to home. The simple answer is north and the farther north the better. In the northern border states of the US, auroras occur fairly regularly around the time of solar maximum, when the sun peaks in storm activity. The current solar cycle tops out this summer and fall, so your chances at seeing northern lights are far better now than a year and a half ago when solar activity saw a steep decline during a protracted minimum.

A solar flare that occurred around 2 a.m. Thursday morning may create a spectacular display of northern lights Saturday evening. The midlevel flare had a long duration and was directed at Earth. According to AccuWeather.com Astronomer Hunter Outten, who stated that this flare was "impressive", these are the best conditions for seeing a direct effect on our planet. On the Kp index, the flare has been categorized at 6 to 8. This is a scale for measuring the intensity of a a geomagnetic storm. The 6 to 8 rating means that the effects of the radiation will have a greater...

Pennsylvanians have a good chance of seeing the northern lights this evening, AccuWeather says, thanks to a solar flare Thursday. Best time for viewing will be around 8 p.m. Saturday, give or take seven hours. Viewing conditions will be best in the mid-Atlantic, specifically for parts of Pennsylvania and the Delmarva, says Accuweather.

The northern lights of Earth are more than just dazzling light shows — they also generate their own strange applause too, a new study reveals. The same energetic particles that create the dancing, dazzling northern lights high up in Earth's atmosphere also produce strange "clapping" noises just 230 feet (70 meters) from the ground, researchers said. The results vindicate folktales and reports by wilderness travelers, which have long described sounds associated with the northern lights (which are also known as the aurora borealis). "In the past, researchers thought that the aurora borealis was too far away for people to hear...

Oftentimes I'm perfectly happy being in the cheap seats when witnessing life's spectacular moments. (Well, not perfectly happy. I'm always searching for a better view.) Take the Northern Lights. In recent weeks, some people who normally might not be able to gaze at the Aurora Borealis from their own back yard got treated to quite the light show, thanks to a solar radiation storm late last month. But what would the Northern Lights look like from the real nosebleeds (though not cheap)? What would they look like from, say, the International Space Station? NASA has released video of a sequence...

1 Cruise to northern Norway The Norwegian cruise line Hurtigruten (0844 448 7601, hurtigruten.co.uk) has launched a number of new charter flights in response to a surge in demand. A five-day “Arctic Highlights Voyage”, sailing from Tromsø to Kirkenes and back, costs from £949 per person, including flights, on selected departures in November and December. In addition to time in Tromsø (home to the Arctic Cathedral, Polar Museum and a Polaria Centre containing bearded seals), optional excursions include husky dog sled rides, a visit to North Cape, snowmobiling and a trip to the border post with Russia. There are longer...

This is astonishing beauty. One has to believe in God when seeing such splendor! Here's another time-lapse video of the aurora borealis from tonight in Norway: Aurora Time lapse from Kattfjorden (Norway) Here is the photographer who got these beautiful shots: Helge Mortensen Tromsø, Norway arcticshooter.blogspot.com/ I mostly shoot the aurora borealis/Northern lights in the winter season. In the summer I really enjoy the midnight sun and the incredible light you get. I take all kind of pictures but my sweet spot is landscapes that includes the ocean. I do bracketed shots if it benefits the image. But I...

Auroras may dazzle more people than usual this weekend as Earth receives a glancing blow from an enormous solar outburst that erupted on Jan. 19. The outburst, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), was detected by sun-watching satellites. Researchers at the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute predict that auroras should be visible from Seattle, Des Moines, Chicago, and Cleveland, to Boston and Halifax, Nova Scotia Saturday and Sunday nights, weather permitting. ... Space Weather Center forecasters say they expect the encounter to generate a weak geomagnetic disturbance beginning around 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Sunday Jan. 22 and lasting...

They are so often photographed individually by star-gazers all over the world. But one amateur snapper is celebrating this once-in-a-lifetime picture which includes three stunning natural phenomena - the Northern Lights, Milky Way and a meteorite - in one frame. It was taken by Tommy Eliassen in Ifjord, Finnmark, Norway, at the very beginning of the new aurora season....

The effects of the solar events of the past 3 days are have been arriving at Earth and should provide aurora viewing for the next 3 days for the northern tier states in the US, north of England, southern Scandinavia. The skies should be dark enough at midnight south of 60 degrees N Latitude to see this aurora. In the US, the aurora should be visible over most of the northern half of the nation, if the present activity continues.

Usually, the Northern Lights can only be seen by folks who live far to the north. But this week, the Aurora Borealis is making an appearance in lower Canada, some of the United States, Norway and other countries around the globe. -excerpt- (Nice photos at link)

Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Dining Services Earth Hour Event: On Saturday, March 27, at 8:30 p.m. Shafer Court Dining Center and Jonah’s will take part in Earth Hour — the world’s largest climate change event. By simply turning out all nonessential lighting for one hour, Dining Services will join tens of millions of concerned citizens through...out the world in calling for action to save the planet. The locations will remain open, but with limited lighting during this hour. For more information about the VCU event, contact tmhighsmith@vcu.edu.

Solar activity has been increasing lately and with it the chance to view auroras. There are some sites I've found on the internet for anyone interested in viewing auroras that I am listing in the first post of this thread.

Nasa scientists have discovered what they think causes the Northern Lights, the dramatic, colourful displays seen in the sky seen near the Earth's poles. After a year of studying the mysterious phenomenon, researchers say explosions of magnetic energy occurring about one-third of the way to the moon are responsible for the lights, known as auroras. Nasa say explosions of magnetic energy occurring about one-third of the way to the moon are responsible for the lights, known as auroras Researchers used a network of five Nasa satellites on a mission dubbed Themis to observe a geomagnetic storm in February. They correlated...

Scientists think they have discovered the energy source of auroras borealis, the spectacular color displays seen in the upper latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. New data from NASA's Themis mission, a quintet of satellites launched this winter, found the energy comes from a stream of charged particles from the sun flowing like a current through twisted bundles of magnetic fields connecting Earth's upper atmosphere to the sun. The energy is then abruptly released in the form of a shimmering display of lights, said principal investigator Vassilis Angelopoulos of the University of California at Los Angeles. Results were presented Tuesday at...