Strange Green Glow Near My House.

I live in south-east England, just outside London. Its cloudy but through the clouds you can see the sky to the south is all lit up bright green and its getting brighter! I have never seen anything like this.

I took a picture and it showed up a little but when I emailed it to myself the glow (in the pic) wasn't visible. Please anyone else who can see this try and get pictures, videos, hell even drawing!

ALS

ETA: Heres one of the pictures I took. Is there anyway to make the glow show?



Photo adjusted by Oneisone.

In my opinion, it's viral marketing for Mass Effect 3...

reply to post by ChakaBoy


Nice........

More info: In the direction that the glow is coming from is nothing but forest and commons.

ALS

www.bbc.co.uk...

Looks like the Northern Lights.

Word of advice: if you need to take pictures with very low light levels (IE night time), and of things themselves that have low light levels, consider getting a camera (picture or video) that will allow you to adjust the exposure time. If the green light you saw was faint, it will not show up in a picture very well or at all if the exposure time is too short.

I have a handy little Sony digital video cam, and when I got it, I specifically looked first to make sure:

A) I can turn Auto Focus off and manually focus the camera if I need to

and

B) It also allows me to manually control the exposure amount (works great for both pics and videos taken at night).

I know camera phones are convenient, but they lack the features you need to capture things like you have posted about.

reply to post by draknoir2


That was my first thought but It can't be. In the article it says they have been report as far south as Saltburn, I am much, much, much further south than that.

ALS

reply to post by eriktheawful


Thanks for the advice.

ALS

with contrast jacked up

I might think Aurora if it was to the north maybe but the activity is low now and you said to the south so that doesnt add up

Adjusted the brightness & shadows a bit. I didn't want to distort it too much.


I agree with the one poster about taking a long exposure if you can. Just make sure you have the camera as stable as possible.

Good luck!!!!
OiO

reply to post by OneisOne


Ah thank you very much too you and the poster above.

I double checked with google maps that its coming from the south, its a bit more south-western than I previously thought. Anyone know what this could be?

ALS

I know last year there was an aurora from a CME that was seen as far south in the US as Missouri. And there were pics to prove it. I do believe there was just a pretty big CME a day or 2 ago...and that really does look like the "Northern Lights." Even if you don't normally get them, it can happen. And I think here..it did!

reply to post by ALOSTSOUL


I saw something similar over the Solway Firth a couple of years ago. I put it down to a strange form of noctilucent cloud. The eerie green glow was the same though.

I have a picture at home somewhere, I remember uploading it to the B.E.A.M.S website at the time. I'm at work now though so I can't post it.

reply to post by webpirate


But wouldn't the northern lights take up a lot of the sky? This glow is in a very small part of the sky.

ALS

Originally posted by ALOSTSOUL
reply to post by draknoir2

 

That was my first thought but It can't be. In the article it says they have been report as far south as Saltburn, I am much, much, much further south than that.

ALS

Said that's as far south as it's been reported. You should report it as being further south.

What you describe sounds like what others in the UK are describing, so odds are that's what it is.

I remember one year back in the early 90's we had a huge Aurora event that extended all the way down to Chicago where I live. Didn't know what it was then, having never seen it before and certainly never that far south. Started out pink, then went completely green.

reply to post by ALOSTSOUL


not necessarily you could see it low on the horizon in a small area but it would be to the north from your location and during a period of moderate to high activity which it is not now

could be a cloud lit up from below



just gurssing

Here is a northern light forecast for the 22nd of Feb. As you can see there isn't even activity near Scotland, let alone south-east England.

Auroral activity will be quiet. Weather permitting, quiet displays will be visible directly overhead in northern Iceland and Norway, and visible low on the horizon as far south as Rovaniemi, Finland and Mo i Rana, Norway.

www.gi.alaska.edu...

ALS

reply to post by ALOSTSOUL


It depends. On several things...other ambient light. Hills...trees.

Here is a gallery from just February alone of multiple aurora sightings. Granted they are mostly in Canada and the US, but you can see they do vary in the amount of sky they take up. I think you may well st the bottom of the area that night where they were visible and got a really good look at something you don't normally get to see where you are.

Hello friend nice to see someone else from the south east just outside London. I'm in south Essex, lived here all my life (26 years) never ever seen the northern lights and have always been looking at the sky thanks to my mum put the interest of space into my head. Never seen anything like you picture though from my area. Where in the south east ?

reply to post by iforget

could be a cloud lit up from below

Maybe but by what, all thats out that way is trees and field.

ALS

reply to post by ALOSTSOUL


Actually thats the best parts of it...
Here is the actual forecast...and it does show SE England right at the tip of the lesser viewing area:



Pic courtesy of spaceweather.com...