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Prof. Sam Lawler @sundogplanets@mastodon.social

Oh hellooooo high probability auroras! I'll be watching my sky as it gets dark tonight!

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/

Screenshot of the aurora probability forecast, showing high probability over Eastern and central Canada

Mar 22, 2025, 01:37 AM··Web

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**Prof. Sam Lawler** @sundogplanets · Mar 22

Mar 22

Prof. Sam Lawler @sundogplanets

Not fully dark yet and I can already see them from inside my house!! Time to bundle up

**Prof. Sam Lawler** @sundogplanets · Mar 22

Mar 22

Prof. Sam Lawler @sundogplanets

Haven't gone outside yet, was checking through the window when I saw a RIDICULOUSLY bright satellite and started swearing at it, only to realize it's the ISS. Sigh. It's so awful that Starlink has made me so deeply hate spaceflight.

BLARG. Ok, heading outside now for realz.

**Prof. Sam Lawler** @sundogplanets · Mar 22

Mar 22

Prof. Sam Lawler @sundogplanets

Back inside warming up for a bit. I stood in my yard (so grateful I am mostly outside urban light pollution), in the snow, with a barn cat purring and rubbing my legs while coyotes sang to the auroras. Lovely!!

Contrasting with that peaceful scene, I also saw a whole bunch of Starlink sats (I know they are Starlinks because they're bright and because of their orbits) flying through the auroras. Eat protons, Musk.

**Prof. Sam Lawler** @sundogplanets · Mar 22

Mar 22

Prof. Sam Lawler @sundogplanets

This looks like a neat crowd-source/citizen science aurora website: https://www.aurorasaurus.org/

www.aurorasaurus.orgAurorasaurus - Reporting Auroras from the Ground UpFriends, see my real-time #aurora report on the aurorasaurus.org map! Follow us on www.facebook.com/aurorasaurus.org. Reporting #northernlights and #citizenscience from the ground up since 2012!

**May Likes Toronto** @mayintoronto@beige.party · Mar 22

Mar 22

May Likes Toronto @mayintoronto@beige.party

@sundogplanets A solar storm in the north is one of those memories that never leave you. They're so beautiful.

**Timo J** @timoj@mastodon.online · Mar 22

Mar 22

Timo J @timoj@mastodon.online

@sundogplanets Save #NOAA

**Pᵉtɘr Wᵉil8acher** @PWei888@astrodon.social · Mar 22 *

Mar 22 *

Pᵉtɘr Wᵉil8acher @PWei888@astrodon.social

@sundogplanets Stupid question, but don't you get them all the time? I was in Norway a few weeks ago and we had them basically every night, not continuously but every few hours. Often shining through clouds.
Colleagues originally from Scandinavia tell me the same, they are surprised that people make such a big deal out of auroras.

**Prof. Sam Lawler** @sundogplanets · Mar 22

Mar 22

Prof. Sam Lawler @sundogplanets

@PWei888 On the southern edge of Canada, definitely not every night. Right now at solar max, I'd say maybe once a month? (And sometimes it's cloudy so you miss it)

Definitely a big deal! We're a lot lower latitude than Norway.

**Pᵉtɘr Wᵉil8acher** @PWei888@astrodon.social · Mar 22

Mar 22

Pᵉtɘr Wᵉil8acher @PWei888@astrodon.social

@sundogplanets OK, thanks. I see the oval extending to southern Canada much more frequently than to similar latitudes in Europe. But good to know that is then a bit misleading. (Even though apparently I missed weak auroras last night in the Berlin area.)

**BEAD** @bead@kolektiva.social · Mar 22

Mar 22

BEAD @bead@kolektiva.social

@sundogplanets I went outside and didn't see much with my bare eyes, but my camera picked up some curious shapes. My hand trembled slightly, but not enough to explain these shapes. The faint streak became several and then vanished. Maybe a shooting star? space junk disintegrating? The photos did show some reddish tinge to the sky.

**Queer Like The Slur** @coolandnormal@aus.social · Mar 22

Mar 22

Queer Like The Slur @coolandnormal@aus.social

@sundogplanets I thought the sky was oddly pink at about 4am here (remote area in southern australia, nearly 400km west of Melbourne).
I checked the NOAA aurora site, not much on it, and thought it must have been something else. Looking back, I'm pretty sure it was aurora.

**famousringo** @famousringo@mstdn.ca · Mar 22

Mar 22

famousringo @famousringo@mstdn.ca

@sundogplanets juuust enough for the camera to see… for now.

**Steve Wart** @swart@cosocial.ca · Mar 22

Mar 22

Steve Wart @swart@cosocial.ca

@sundogplanets I hope you have clear skies in Saskatchewan. We are socked in as usual here

**Edwin G.** @EdwinG@mstdn.moimeme.ca · Mar 22

Mar 22

Edwin G. @EdwinG@mstdn.moimeme.ca

@sundogplanets Seems I won’t have a repeat in Montréal from last year.

It was amazing!

**Prof. Sam Lawler** @sundogplanets · Mar 22

Mar 22

Prof. Sam Lawler @sundogplanets

@EdwinG We're at solar maximum right now, so who knows!

**Laura Anna** @happyfamjam@friendica.world · Mar 22

Mar 22

Laura Anna @happyfamjam@friendica.world

@sundogplanets @EdwinG We definitely wont get it in southern Ontario

To all the lucky ducks, enjoy!

**AkaSci** @AkaSci@fosstodon.org · Mar 22 *

Mar 22 *

AkaSci @AkaSci@fosstodon.org

@sundogplanets @EdwinG
Let's hope that the Parker Solar Probe, during its close approach of the Sun tomorrow, flies through a flare or CME.

https://parkersolarprobe.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/Show-Article.php?articleID=209
https://fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/114203705057280943

Parker Solar ProbeParker Solar Probe Primed for Next Close Approach to the SunNASA's Parker Solar Probe is zooming through its 23rd science-gathering solar encounter, heading toward a close approach of the Sun on Saturday, March 22, that matches its record distance of 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) from the solar surface.The spacecraft will also equal its record-setting flyby speed of 430,000 miles per hour (692,000 kilometers per hour) -- a mark that, like the distance, was set during its latest close approach on Dec.

**Laura Anna** @happyfamjam@friendica.world · Mar 22

Mar 22

Laura Anna @happyfamjam@friendica.world

@sundogplanets Please share photos!

**Prof. Sam Lawler** @sundogplanets · Mar 22

Mar 22

Prof. Sam Lawler @sundogplanets

@happyfamjam Wish I had a good astrophoto camera setup, but I really don't :(

**Pᵉtɘr Wᵉil8acher** @PWei888@astrodon.social · Mar 22

Mar 22

Pᵉtɘr Wᵉil8acher @PWei888@astrodon.social

@sundogplanets @happyfamjam A mobile with a camera app with night mode makes it easy!

**Abram Kedge** @AbramKedge@beige.party · Mar 22

Mar 22

Abram Kedge @AbramKedge@beige.party

@sundogplanets they always seem to skip us, or hide behind clouds! I did go looking for them one clear night a few months back; I have one photo that *may* have a tinge of aurora near the horizon, but could also be distant street lighting

This is the current aurora notifier forecast covering Scotland:

**⊥ᵒᵚ⁄Cᵸᵎᶺᵋᶫ∸ᵒᵘ** @falken@qoto.org · Mar 22 *

Mar 22 *

⊥ᵒᵚ⁄Cᵸᵎᶺᵋᶫ∸ᵒᵘ @falken@qoto.org

@sundogplanets #aurorawatchuk woke me up, cloudy :-(

#auroraUk #aurora #Macclesfield

**Michael ️** @mcpinson@mas.to · Mar 22

Mar 22

Michael ️ @mcpinson@mas.to

@sundogplanets
I never realized just how many there are until I saw this.
https://satellitemap.space/?constellation=starlink#
#Starlink #SpaceX #LightPollutuon

Starlink satellite trackerStarlink satellite trackerLive view of SpaceX starlink satellite constellation and coverage.

**dxzdb** @dxzdb · Mar 22

Mar 22

dxzdb @dxzdb

@mcpinson @sundogplanets are the tiny white dots the satellites? What are the blinking red squares. How about the smaller red things?

**Michael ️** @mcpinson@mas.to · Mar 22

Mar 22

Michael ️ @mcpinson@mas.to

@dxzdb @sundogplanets
The white dots are satellites.

The green head&shoulders icons are the International Space Station and the Chinese Space Station.

The large red/white blinking squares you can zoom in on to see where satellites did recently or will soon burn up in the atmosphere.

The smaller red blinking dots are ground uplink stations.

You can turn on People in the settings to see how many people are using Starlink terminals in an area.

**CoolBlenderKitten** @CoolBlenderKitten@mastodon.art · Mar 22

Mar 22

CoolBlenderKitten @CoolBlenderKitten@mastodon.art

@mcpinson @dxzdb @sundogplanets
Holy shit that's spooky

**dxzdb** @dxzdb · Mar 22

Mar 22

dxzdb @dxzdb

@mcpinson @sundogplanets wow! Amazing detail! Now that I’ve looked at it on a bigger screen (and zoomed in) - it’s a lot easier to tell.

**Fuse Views** @TimePencil@infosec.exchange · Mar 22

Mar 22

Fuse Views @TimePencil@infosec.exchange

@sundogplanets

If we're going to wish that Musk eats protons, let's hope he does so with spoonfuls of atoms containing 94 of them!

**Katzedecimal** @Katzedecimal@kind.social · Mar 22

Mar 22

Katzedecimal @Katzedecimal@kind.social

@sundogplanets
We're outside looking. They're faint here but the stars are just blazing! Best view of Orion & the Winter Hexagon constellations that I've seen in a very long time

**Patrick Johanneson** @pjohanneson@mstdn.ca · Mar 22

Mar 22

Patrick Johanneson @pjohanneson@mstdn.ca

@sundogplanets I've got a couple cameras going, right now, about 10 minutes drive from my house. There are worse places to be.

**Mumuv42** @mumuv42@mastodon.top · Mar 22

Mar 22

Mumuv42 @mumuv42@mastodon.top

@sundogplanets
Oh thank you for this!!!!

**Phillip** @phillip@social.lol · Mar 22

Mar 22

Phillip @phillip@social.lol

@sundogplanets @shom This is awesome! Tysm for sharing!!

**Kevin R Jones** @kevinrj · Mar 22

Mar 22

Kevin R Jones @kevinrj

@sundogplanets hey over there, the ISS is something I think the BrainPort could definitely see. Also, I kind of got unofficial permission from who used to be my boss at Wicab when we both worked there, that if I can find an electrical engineer I can modify my BrainPort to feed it video bypassing the camera.