I want to go to Mars for the stargazing
https://x.com/iam_smx/status/2006804767973015567
THE NORTHERN LIGHTS TRAIN
https://www.arctictrain.com/products/northern-lights-train
>I want to go to Mars for the stargazing
Wow, that view is incredible. I wonder if a human eye can adapt to the same degree as that camera can?
I've also always wanted to see the Northern Lights.
> human eye
Good point. We may be seeing "light" that isn't even in the visible spectrum.
I guess we'll just have to go and see for ourselves once commercial flights become available. It's only about 12 minutes away at light speed.
> Northern Lights
I remember a spectacular display as a little kid, but I still didn't understand how much I was missing due to having some form of colorblindness. So while I have seen the Northern Lights a few times, I don't think I've ever truly *seen* the Northern Light like people with color vision would.
It's pretty hard to explain what you see and don't see. But if you take this free test, about 20% of the time, I answer "nothing" and another 20% I'm totally guessing based on a vague impression of seeing a number
https://enchroma.com/pages/test
I get 100% for blue, 75% for green and 87% for red.
>> *seen* the Northern Light like people with color vision
If it's any consolation, most of the time they show just one colour. I'd call it a pale icy green. At my latitude, other colours do occur, but really vivid colours are rare.
My grandfather said that when the lights are active on a totally still, clear, minus-forty winter night you could sometimes hear a noise, little crackles like radio static. His farm was at latitude 52 degrees.
I once served as editor for a doctoral dissertation on the topic of space plasma physics. The candidate, originally from Japan, had devoted years to studying space phenomena but had never seen the Northern Lights in person.
>> pale icy green
Yup. Usually the same for the lunar spraybows.
Note that I have a significant deficit in that wavelength. So people see the shimmering green and I nod and say, "I imagine that's interesting."
So when people want me to stay up late for lunar spraybows and northern lights, I demur.
How's your color perception for purple? You could go see the (man-made, light polluting) 'northern lights' in Birmingham UK
Magical view this evening. Birmingham, UK
https://old.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/1q86kxx/magical_view_this_evening_birmingham_uk/
Purple is pretty good. Basically, I have 100% function for blue and for B&W. I think my black and white vision is better than average (I.e when younger I seemed to be better able than others to navigate in the dark when hiking and climbing). I don't think I have fewer receptors overall I have fewer red/green receptors.
So my guess is that blue, yellow, white are more vibrant to me than to you and red, green, teal, are less vibrant. Purple depends a bit on how blue va red it is.
Very nice Northern Lights tonight. In VErmont near the Canadian border, about 5 degrees F, very little moon. Ideal conditions.
Even my colorblind eyes could see it quite well.
xkcd: Aurora Coolness
https://xkcd.com/3196/
I had this week's lights amped up so you could see them...
Biggest Solar Radiation Storm in 23 Years Sparks Northern Lights Worldwide
https://www.vice.com/en/article/biggest-solar-radiation-storm-in-23-years-sparks-northern-lights-worldwide/
>> Aurora Coolness
Given the temperatures, 5-10 minutes was about all anyone had time for. It started out as a band on the horizon that sort of looked like then end of a sunset behind clouds, but expanded to a double band that took up a good portion of the horizon, maybe 30 degrees azimuth??? I should have paid more attention. Anyway, a lot of the sky.
Half an hour later it was 100% gone, at least to my eyes.