Aurora Watch (2-3 November)

This is a follow up to yesterdays Geomagnetic warning. The Australian IPS has now  issued a Aurora Watch for possible aurora in southern, and possibly central Australia from 2-3 November (from a coronal hole, not a CME as in the watch notice) . The NOAA site still has a predicted G3 storm from a fast moving solar wind stream from a coronal hole that produced G3 storms in early October 7-8.

The arrival of the solar wind stream will now be somewhere between the evening of the 2nd and the morning of the 3rd Australian time. Given the bounty of aurora from the last visitation of this hole, there is a strong possibility we will get unaided eye visible aurora in both Tasmania and the Southern mainland. Evening skies are clear of the Moon, and the waning Moon will interfere on the 2nd and 3rd, but not as much as the Full moon.  Sadly, the weather over most of Southern Australia is rubbish at the moment.

Dark sky sites have the best chance of seeing anything, and always allow around 5 minutes for your eyes to become dark adapted.

As always look to the south for shifting red/green glows, beams have been reported consistently over the last few aurora and a large green “blob” has been seen.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.  

The all sky aurora camera in Northern Tasmania at Cressy may be helpful.
http://www.ips.gov.au/Geophysical/4/2>

SUBJ: IPS AURORA WATCH
ISSUED AT 0644 UT ON 02 Nov 2015 BY IPS RADIO AND SPACE SERVICES
FROM THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE FORECAST CENTRE

A Coronal Mass Ejection is expected to impact the Earth within the
next 24 – 48 hours, possibly resulting in significant space weather
activity and visible auroras during local nighttime hours. Aurora
sightings are likely on the evenings of 02-03 Nov from Southern
Australian regions, possibly extending at times to Central regions on
03 Nov.

Further monitoring at
http://www.ips.gov.au