AuroraWatch Edmonton

At 9:26 pm on Saturday night I received email notification of an AuroraWatch yellow alert. Of all the emails I receive, nothing induces the same sympathetic activation. Catching my first glimpse of the aurora borealis is one of my top priorities.

AuroraWatch, based at the University of Alberta, monitors Edmonton's geomagnetic activity and generates a real-time probability of witnessing an aurora. When the probability reaches 50%, a yellow alert is issued; at 70%, a red alert is sent out.

On Saturday night the probability reached 91% -- the highest I'd seen in my four months of following it. I looked out of my window to see a perfectly clear starry sky. Figuring if I was ever going to see the aurora, right then would be the best bet, I grabbed my camera and drove a short ways to a north-facing viewpoint overlooking the river valley.

Well, I did have a fantastic view of downtown Edmonton, the Legislature, and the High Level Bridge lit in royal blue and orange for National Philanthropy Day, but alas, no aurora to complete the scene.

Had I driven to a dark-sky area outside of the city, I may have had better luck, but I know that occasionally the aurora are visible right in the city and I'm still hoping to catch a glimpse on one of those nights. Along with spotting a moose, seeing the aurora borealis is a self-determined requirement during my five years in Alberta. I'm sure my motivation to accomplish it will increase inversely to my time left in residency, so perhaps some day I will end up in the right place at the right time to cross it off my list!

aurora over Edmonton on Oct 8, 2012 -- captured by a more talented and persistent photographer!
(by Geoffrey McGill, http://uofa.ualberta.ca/news-and-events/newsarticles/2012/10/aurorawatchersthankfulforspectacularshow)

Have you ever seen the aurora borealis?