November 5th 2001 Auroraborealis

Northern Lights

A solar flare on Sunday November 4, 2001, caused an impressive aurora borealis display over Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan on the following Monday night, November 5-6. Solar radiation from the flare moving away from the sun reacted with earth's magnetic fields. Gases in the uppermost reaches of our atmosphere took on a greenish glow, occasionally changing to an orange or deep red.

The photos below were taken by hydrometeorologist technician Toby Tenharmsel from the parking lot of the Northern Indiana weather office around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday November 6. The camera shutter was held open for 16 seconds to get the shots. The bright light in the corner of the last picture is the moon.

For more information on the aurora borealis, and to monitor solar activity that leads to an aurora, visit the following links:

https://www.sec.noaa.gov/                                                                                      General information and overview
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/30-minute-aurora-forecast                           Aurora activity seen by NOAA POES (polar orbiting satellite)
https://sec.noaa.gov/info/Aurora.pdf                                                                       A detailed explanation of the Aurora Borealis Phenomena
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/aurora-index.html    NASA Aurora information
https://dx.qsl.net/propagation/                                                                                 An excellent site that provides information from several sources
https://www.wm7d.net/hamradio/solar/index.epl                                                     Another informative site

Aurora seen at NWS Northern Indiana on November 5th 2001