How to Forecast the Aurora: Never miss a Northern Lights show again!

Описание: In this video I explain how to predict the Aurora Borealis with a focus on lower non-Arctic latitudes.

I've wanted to photograph the Northern Lights in my home country The Netherlands for years now. In February of 2023 I finally succeeded! To get the Aurora so far South is pretty rare. However, as we are approaching solar maximum those chances are increasing fast. So this is the perfect time to educate yourself on Aurora chasing!

In the previous months I had been missing out on big Aurora displays because I didn't know when to go out! That's when I decided to do a deep dive on forecasting the Polar Lights. In this video I'll share you what I've learned, take you with me on 2 adventures in the field and interview Andrew Allan from ‪@scotlandsnightsky‬, a seasoned Aurora hunter, who shares some practical tips & tricks with us.

00:00 - Dreaming of Photographing Aurora Borealis in The Netherlands
00:42 - What is Aurora Borealis?
01:10 - Solar Cycle and Solar Maximum in 2024

01:31 - Chasing the Aurora at a Dutch Windmill

03:35 - Learning to forecast the Aurora
03:51 - Solar Wind activity & CME's (Coronal Mass Ejections)
04:28 - Predicting a CME impact
05:04 - Early warning by L1 satellites
05:37 - Solar Wind Speed
05:42 - Solar Wind Density
05:49 - Magnetic Field Force
05:55 - Magnetic Field Direction / Bz
06:17 - Ovation Model
06:31 - Don't use the KP-Index

07:05 - Expert Interview with Andrew Allan from (Scotlands Nightsky)
07:57 - The Bz value might be most important!
09:48 - How long does it take from L1 satellites to visible Auroras?

13:27 - Chasing the Aurora during Full Moon

WEBSITES, APPS AND OTHER HANDY INFORMATION
NOAA Space Weather Enthusiast Dashboard: https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities...
Spaceweatherlive.com
Arcticans Aurora Forecast App
If you really want to do a more deep dive into Aurora Chasing I recommend checking out Adrian Mauduit aka Night Lights Films on YouTube and Instagram. He also has an e-book available, does Aurora Chasing webinars and you can become a member of his Buy Me A Coffee channel (which I did) and get Aurora Alerts and access to in depth articles.

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GEAR USED IN THIS VIDEO
Canon 6D (astro modified)
Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 Art (https://amzn.to/47eSjfg)
Canon 50mm f/1.8 (https://amzn.to/3s5yHM1)
SkyWatcher Star Adventurer Pro Star Tracker (https://amzn.to/49jN4Ne)
Rode Wireless Pro Microphone (https://amzn.to/3Mm8lMk)
Sony A7S (video)
Viltrox 20mm f/1.8 (https://amzn.to/47bHRWy)
Fuji X-T2 (video)
Samyang/Rokinon 12mm f/2 (https://amzn.to/40hLA26)

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You might also like Alyn Wallace, Nightscape Images, Scotlands Nightsky, AstroHBF, Chasing Luminance, John Rutter photography, AstroBackyard, Milky Way Mike, Grow Photography, Night Lights Films, Mike's Epic Photos! and Paul Haworth Nightscape Journals.

Additional footage used in this video by NASA.