{"id":2111,"date":"2024-09-30T01:13:39","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T01:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aurorasaurudev.wpengine.com\/?p=2111"},"modified":"2024-09-30T22:13:53","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T22:13:53","slug":"a-space-weather-analyst-falls-in-love-with-the-aurora-all-over-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/?p=2111","title":{"rendered":"A space weather analyst falls in love with the aurora all over again"},"content":{"rendered":"

You never forget your first aurora; it\u2019s an awe-inspiring experience! But not everyone who loves the aurora gets to see it often. One reason collaborations between aurora scientists and aurora chasers are so strong is that each brings different knowledge to the study of the northern and southern lights. Many aurora scientists have not had the opportunity to see the aurora in person, let alone regularly. So what\u2019s it like to have made a science career related to the northern and southern lights and finally get to see it for the first time? In this post, we bring you reflections from NASA space weather analyst Carina Alden on her first aurora sighting this past month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"A<\/a>
Photo taken in Kildare, MN, on 8\/11\/24 at 11:18 PM CT. I\u2019m standing in the window of the car and my friend took the picture from the other window!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As someone who professionally stares (<\/span>safely<\/span><\/a>) at the sun all day, it was hard to believe I had never seen the aurora. I monitor the sun for eruptions, measure said eruptions, follow up by modeling and documenting the eruptions and their impacts, and if necessary notify NASA human and robotic missions. But living in Maryland, I\u2019d need a strong storm to see aurora with the naked eye this far south. So after analyzing the May storms, knowing they were going to be impressive, and then missing them due to clouds, I felt a bit like I might have missed my one chance to see the northern lights this solar cycle. Fortunately for me, the Sun had other ideas!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After a trip to a friend’s wedding in South Dakota this August, my friends and I began a 17-hour overnight drive back to Michigan. Dusk fell pretty quickly and soon we were driving through Minnesota in the dark. As someone who works in space weather, I was well aware of the possibilities of seeing the northern lights around August 11. I\u2019m not sure what prompted me, but I decided to check the Space Weather Live app to see if there were good viewing chances. Sure enough, I saw that Kp was at 6 and ground-based magnetometers were disturbed<\/span>. I called up to my friend who was driving to ask if he could see anything. Through my tinted window, all I could see was what appeared to be fog, but in the sky.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCan you see anything? It looks kinda cloudy to me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNope, I can see stars\u2014I don\u2019t think it\u2019s cloudy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

My heart started beating fast. \u201cReally??\u201d I frantically fumbled for my phone. \u201cI\u2019ll take a picture through the window to check!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Faintly<\/a>
My first aurora photo, taken via iPhone 13 Pro in Six Mile Grove, MN, on 8\/11\/24 at 10:05 PM CT through a tinted window.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201c<\/span>HOLY<\/span><\/i>\u2026IT\u2019S THE NORTHERN LIGHTS!!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As my panic and excitement continued, my friend asked whether he should pull over on the side of the road. I was so focused I couldn\u2019t hear him, but thankfully, my other friend urged him to pull over on the small highway in Michigan. I couldn\u2019t believe it: I was FINALLY going to see the northern lights! Remembering the amazing aurora photographers I admire, I quickly tried to open my camera bag and get it ready but suddenly realized that since this wasn\u2019t what I normally photographed, I had no idea what settings to use. Instead, I rolled down my window and started snapping pictures with my phone, punctuated with exclamations as the aurora took my breath away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Around 10pm CDT, we pulled over just in time to watch the first active display occur. I watched as the faint pillars got brighter, tinted red and green to the naked eye. It was INCREDIBLE\u2014I couldn\u2019t believe it! We spent an hour watching Lady Aurora dance slowly across the northern horizon before setting off again. The aurora was still going, but it had retreated a bit and become more \u201cblobby\u201d to the eye. I left the window down and stuck my head out into the cool air as we continued driving, watching the lights as we raced through the night. My excitement was infectious, and the friend who was not driving was fiddling with her Android settings to take her own photos.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We only made it down the road a bit to around St. Cloud, Minnesota, before the aurora started to brighten. We stopped again to watch extremely bright green swirls with faint pillars. <\/span>There was a moment in which I wondered whether I was catching a glimpse of <\/span>STEVE<\/span><\/a>, but it just turned out to be a strange-looking pink pillar in the middle of the aurora. My friends were excited, but I wished I had other aurora chasers there with me who also understood how unique this event was. I was grateful that Tanya Melnik of the <\/span>Upper Midwest Aurora Chasers<\/span><\/a> saw my tweets at midnight and helped me track the data, sharing her view of the overhead aurora with me. I can only imagine how much fun it would’ve been to be with chasers familiar with the ways different phenomena dance. As it was, my group continued driving while watching the lights. Then, looking out the window, I noticed the beginning of the second active display.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And\u2026 oh my gosh. The aurora was completely OVERHEAD, in MINNESOTA!! I couldn\u2019t believe it!! It took a brilliant overhead form called the corona<\/a>, and was pulsating and flickering. As it rapidly brightened, the aurora painted HUGE pillars, miles high. The colors were incredible: purples, reds, and the brightest greens. I felt amazed, thankful, grateful, and even shocked, watching in disbelief. It’s hard to explain the euphoria of it all; it’s one thing to see pictures and hear about it, but something else entirely to witness the aurora with your own eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Curling<\/a>
Overhead corona photo taken from Rockville, MN on 8\/12\/24 at 1:12 AM CT on Route 23. (Backroad vibes). Picture taken looking straight up. A-mazing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I felt truly blessed and thankful to have been there witnessing it. We pulled over once more around 1am and sat leaning out the windows of our car, just staring straight up at the aurora. When we continued, I watched out the window until the aurora faded into the bright lights of Minneapolis. When I reflect on the experience I can\u2019t help but think that my grandma, who had passed a week before, helped me see my first aurora.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Pillars<\/a>
Photo taken while on the road out of my window (the driver\u2019s side passenger window) in Lynden, MN on 8\/12\/24 at 1:29 AM CT driving on Route 54\/Interstate 94. The bright green swirls in the picture were visible as we were driving into Minneapolis (I was crying that we weren\u2019t able to pull over!)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As someone who studies space weather and how it causes the aurora, I spend a lot of time examining data. But seeing it in person, there were a number of things that surprised me:<\/span><\/p>\n