Northern Lights Put on a Spectacular Show

The Northern Lights/Aurora Borealis are caused when a solar storm lets off gasses and some of the energy and particles travel through the magnetic fields at the north pole into the earth's atmosphere and interact with gasses in our atmosphere. The result is colorful displays of light in our sky. Different colors are created by different gasses. The same phenomena occurs at the south pole and is called the Southern Lights or Aurora Australis

One factor in predicting the potential for seeing the Northern Lights is geomagnetic activity. Geomagnetic activity is based on solar activity and varies significantly from hour-to-hour, day-to-day, etc. The higher the geomagnetic activity, the brighter the Lights will be, and the further from the poles they can be seen.The level of geomagnetic activity is indicated by the planetary K index or Kp index which ranges from 0 to 9. A Kp index of 0-1 is difficult to see even close to the poles, whereas a Kp index of 8-9 can be seen in many US states and is very bright. On April 23, the Kp Index was a rare high of 8.

The Bz index classifies solar wind in the up or down direction. A negative, southward, Bz is more likely to result in viewable aurora in our area.

Tara Townsend is a local mother of three who has expertise in all matters of the sky due to her lifelong interest. With the incredibly active light displays over the last month, courteous of the Aurora Borealis, we asked her to share her knowledge, personal connections, and tips for viewing.

When did you develop an interest in the Northern Lights? When did you introduce your boys to the Lights?

From a very early age I was mesmerized by the sky. Anything in the sky. Stars, shooting stars, meteors, comets, planets, sunsets, eclipses....northern lights. Anything of the sky – I was very much attracted to learning about them as a child and into my adult years.

When I was a child, I remember seeing the Northern Lights from Fort Peck. I don't remember the exact age, I would imagine 7 or 8. I don't remember much of that exact trip, as we would go to Fort Peck a lot when my dad worked out of Glasgow, but I remember my dad and mom pointed them out after we fished and were heading back to Glasgow.

I introduced my boys to the lights when they were quite young. We used to go on trips to see the meteor showers, any time of the night. I would load Ryder up as a tot with a sippy cup and we'd head towards the ranch to see anything we could. Both Ryder & Rhett learned to love the sky young. The kids and I will watch our trackers and head out early evening into the early morning to see anything we can. Lane, Ryder & Rhett are always looking forward to heading out to see them – Rhett often tells me when the KP indexes look to be high in the upcoming days. He enjoys tracking.

As an adult, like many others, you set aside time to go watch the Lights. Why do the Lights have value and meaning to you personally? Is it a peaceful escape?

I often find myself watching the trackers into the late evenings. Many times I will get up in the middle of the night when I get an alert and head out alone, and when I can see the aurora will be present, I'll go home and wake the kids. We often get false positives, a high index, after a large storm, but other times, even a KP 2 will shed some light. Some nights they beg for me to wake them up. Other nights, when I do, they want to go back to bed. It's very peaceful to be out, regardless if I'm alone or not. When the aurora is strongest above us (60 – 200 miles), which is VERY unusual, you can actually hear them. The whooshing and screeching of the aurora is something that can't be explained. It's absolutely beautiful, though the sound doesn't necessarily follow the dancing of the aurora. It's really interesting to think how beautiful they are down here, but how violent they really are in the sky above us. It's magical to watch them, especially with the magnetic storms we had late April.

Is there a 'forecast' you go to for best viewing times? What time is generally best to watch them?

I actually use 3 trackers. Aurora Alerts (https://aurora-alerts.com/) is an app which will give an overhead forecast and horizon forecast. I find this one to be fairly accurate. It has a long forecast of 3 days or more, graphs, and alerts you can purchase. I also use Aurora Map – which gives a more detailed picture of the geometric storms, solar wind density, speed & BZ (NT). Gives updated cloud coverage for now and up to 5 hours from now, and allows you to report if the aurora is visible at your location. The images on the app are used to spot solar flares coming from the sun. Most of this information is reported by the NOAA and the forecasts are usually very accurate. The last tracker I use is the Northern Eye Aurora Forecast (available in Google Play). Again, it shows density, wind speed, best locations. It follows cloud cover and has two maps for showing the proximity of the aurora in the area. All 3 apps can and will show different information at the same time, however, you'll know when the viewing is good as they will all alert to the solar storms. You can set alarms, alerts, text alerts for a few days in advance so you can set your schedule to wake or stay up late to wait.

What advice would you have for a novice who has never made an attempt to watch the Lights, but is interested?

It's important to know that the lights are 100% unpredictable. Everyone thinks because you live in the north you will always see them...not true. HOWEVER, it's also important to know that the lights are present even before sunset. There's no need to wait until 2am, if the speed and density are good enough, and the Bz is negative (wind speed) you can see the northern lights early in the evening right from town – remember the more negative the Bz, the more energy can be transferred, and that results in more geomagnetic activity. The longer the Bz has been negative, the stronger the aurora will be. Whether we see them or not is dependent upon sky conditions and the level of light pollution. It also doesn't have to be cold to see the northern lights. It doesn't take a lot of effort. So many people think there's only "certain" nights...when their facebook tells them it's going to be huge. But watch your tracker. If your clouds are low, and the KP index sits between a 3-5, you have a great chance of seeing the glow of the northern lights. You may not always get the red or purple glows of the aurora, but it's very possible to see them many times a month. Take the time to adjust your eyes, remove yourself from the city lights (in Chinook it's not hard, head north on any of our many roads).

Would you consider viewing the Northern Lights to be a fun family event?

I would rather go with my kids than anyone else. Toddlers, kids, teens....they're curious. They want to know WHY the sky is doing what it is...and by learning enough to tell them, it's created a curiosity and educational experience for myself. We've created some of our best memories north on West Fork Road. It's also amazing what else you see when you're headed out to catch the aurora....shooting stars, planets, satellites, a Chinese spy balloon. (kidding, but really). If you go out with your kids, learn some of the star constellations. Look for the milky way. There is so much to astronomy that we don't learn in school, it's not possible to learn it all. There's also so much new technology than ever before with space telescopes (check out the James Webb Space Telescope project) and satellite information. It's really an experience to spend a night out watching the sky, uninterrupted and quiet.