The night sky on Mars

[ergophobe]

I want to go to Mars for the stargazing

https://x.com/iam_smx/status/2006804767973015567

[rcjordan]

THE NORTHERN LIGHTS TRAIN
https://www.arctictrain.com/products/northern-lights-train

[littleman]

>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. 

[ergophobe]

> 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.

[buckworks]

>> *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.

[ergophobe]

>> 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.

[rcjordan]

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/

[ergophobe]

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.

[ergophobe]

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.

[rcjordan]

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/

[ergophobe]

>> 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.