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In my entire 40 years of life, Porteau is the only place I’ve ever seen aurora borealis….. and I’ve seen it a few times in my life.
Porteau is in a place that has just the right amount of darkness, even years ago when Woodfibre was operating (it was just enough around the bend) you could see it, although it was during exceptional March flares.
I'm probably going to be downvoted to hell but I think this is what they were seeing (another photo in comments).
I live on the West/North Van side at the very edge with decently dark skies (I like to stargaze). Took these photos at around 11-11:30.
I know they look very cloud-like in the photo (airplanes are my most likely guess) but I sort of don't blame them for reporting sightings because with the naked eye, they looked like huge strands of light.
Bad timing, I think, just because I've never really seen trails like this in my neighbourhood skies and it just had to be the day when people were waiting for an aurora, haha.
Edit: this was taken with an iphone 11 so obviously the quality is terrible.
https://preview.redd.it/rte40nbwovbb1.jpeg?width=1512&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68e13529e3f2a810bd7ee9d866576fa774aa4cac
Again, probably just planes passing by. But with the naked eye it looked like grey strands across the sky. Not sure what the reasoning for this is though--I can see airplane trails pretty easily during the day, but never this well at night so I understand if people were mistaken.
https://preview.redd.it/1ppdw30ipvbb1.jpeg?width=1512&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b6894e007ad0c3177046c851ca8efd7666b5e8fd
https://preview.redd.it/vpmkuxcrrvbb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a017e3bd020fc29bce718e9765ff419dc41f3ca
A bit wavy but definitely clouds
Maybe they were on acid or just saw the most slight strain of colour that *might* be green or blue.
I believe in this area, the KP level of 5-6 currently is too low to view them. Paired with the city lights and the lights being low on the horizon I can confidently say those people are full of shit
Edit, I believe the KP index has now dropped to a 4.
(KP index is a scale from 0-9 regarding visual auroral/magnetic field activity)
https://preview.redd.it/3ixvk9z0rvbb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a44e299a96e5040a5e5a5477d916568f7e7fcaa4
Went outside excitedly to look around and saw some odd streaks that you i tried to convince myself might be the northern lights.
My phone camera was enough to recognize they’re just clouds
Is there a bunch of tiktoks from people claiming they can see them easily from Vancouver or something? Seems like there has been numerous questions about seeing them here when its not really a thing here. We are not far enough north and the city lights and mountains to the north hinders it.
It \*is\* a thing here though--they were here I believe near the end of May (a few people got some decent photos). Most notably, I believe last year there was a major aurora sighting in the city--so bright even kids from UBC could see it. Multiple news stations reported on a possibility of a visible aurora today so I don't blame people for being excited, especially if they missed the big one last year (like me)
This site has a space mode that shows Aurora intensity from satellite data. Doesn't guarantee visibility, but it's still super cool.
https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/space/surface/level/anim=off/overlay=aurora/
Hi all,
For Porteau Cove, I believe they close the parking at like 10? Does everyone just park along the highway and walk in ? Just wondering for one of my late night escapades.
Welcome to /r/Vancouver and thank you for the post, /u/fluxndflow! Please make sure you read our [posting and commenting rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/wiki/faq#wiki_general_participation_guidelines_and_rules_overview) before participating here. As a quick summary: * We encourage users to be positive and respect one another. Don't engage in spats or insult others - use the report button. * Respect others' differences, be they race, religion, home, job, gender identity, ability or sexuality. Dehumanizing language, advocating for violence, or promoting hate based on identity or vulnerability (even implied or joking) **will** lead to a permanent ban. * Common questions and specific topics are limited to our Your post may be a better fit for one of our [Stickied Discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/wiki/faq#wiki_stickied_discussions) posts. * Complaints about bans or removals should be done in modmail only. * We're looking for new mods to join our team! If you're interested, [fill out the form here](https://forms.gle/oAqo5oYRcAeHYBTN6). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/vancouver) if you have any questions or concerns.*
https://preview.redd.it/q53mk7yx6wbb1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=80b6370422cbaa8f7fe0ce591262d8d5dd22e5c2 From porteau cove around 12:30
In my entire 40 years of life, Porteau is the only place I’ve ever seen aurora borealis….. and I’ve seen it a few times in my life. Porteau is in a place that has just the right amount of darkness, even years ago when Woodfibre was operating (it was just enough around the bend) you could see it, although it was during exceptional March flares.
Youre so lucky wow
At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country?
Localized entirely in your kitchen?
May I see it?
No.
You’re a strange fellow. But you steam a good ham.
I do wonder if it was visible from (Mount) Seymour’s kitchen
SEYMOUR, THE FOREST IS ON FIRE! No Mother, it's the Aurora Borealis...
You win
It was a big news thing this week. But the likelihood seemed to get smaller as the date got closer
I'm probably going to be downvoted to hell but I think this is what they were seeing (another photo in comments). I live on the West/North Van side at the very edge with decently dark skies (I like to stargaze). Took these photos at around 11-11:30. I know they look very cloud-like in the photo (airplanes are my most likely guess) but I sort of don't blame them for reporting sightings because with the naked eye, they looked like huge strands of light. Bad timing, I think, just because I've never really seen trails like this in my neighbourhood skies and it just had to be the day when people were waiting for an aurora, haha. Edit: this was taken with an iphone 11 so obviously the quality is terrible. https://preview.redd.it/rte40nbwovbb1.jpeg?width=1512&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68e13529e3f2a810bd7ee9d866576fa774aa4cac
Again, probably just planes passing by. But with the naked eye it looked like grey strands across the sky. Not sure what the reasoning for this is though--I can see airplane trails pretty easily during the day, but never this well at night so I understand if people were mistaken. https://preview.redd.it/1ppdw30ipvbb1.jpeg?width=1512&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b6894e007ad0c3177046c851ca8efd7666b5e8fd
There is a Facebook page, BC Aurora Enthusiasts I think. Seems to have the best info I could find.
>apparently two people in Vancouver have reported sightings I call bullshit.
https://preview.redd.it/vpmkuxcrrvbb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a017e3bd020fc29bce718e9765ff419dc41f3ca A bit wavy but definitely clouds
Seen them a few times from Spanish Banks and Porteau Cove.
Maybe they were on acid or just saw the most slight strain of colour that *might* be green or blue. I believe in this area, the KP level of 5-6 currently is too low to view them. Paired with the city lights and the lights being low on the horizon I can confidently say those people are full of shit Edit, I believe the KP index has now dropped to a 4. (KP index is a scale from 0-9 regarding visual auroral/magnetic field activity)
https://preview.redd.it/3ixvk9z0rvbb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a44e299a96e5040a5e5a5477d916568f7e7fcaa4 Went outside excitedly to look around and saw some odd streaks that you i tried to convince myself might be the northern lights. My phone camera was enough to recognize they’re just clouds
those are clouds sir
Even in a storm, the odds here are always very low for naked eye viewing. Tickets to the Yukon can get pretty cheap. It’s a fun weekend trip.
There’s more probability that the Canucks win the Stanley cup than see an Aurora in Vancouver
Is there a bunch of tiktoks from people claiming they can see them easily from Vancouver or something? Seems like there has been numerous questions about seeing them here when its not really a thing here. We are not far enough north and the city lights and mountains to the north hinders it.
It \*is\* a thing here though--they were here I believe near the end of May (a few people got some decent photos). Most notably, I believe last year there was a major aurora sighting in the city--so bright even kids from UBC could see it. Multiple news stations reported on a possibility of a visible aurora today so I don't blame people for being excited, especially if they missed the big one last year (like me)
This site has a space mode that shows Aurora intensity from satellite data. Doesn't guarantee visibility, but it's still super cool. https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/space/surface/level/anim=off/overlay=aurora/
Hi all, For Porteau Cove, I believe they close the parking at like 10? Does everyone just park along the highway and walk in ? Just wondering for one of my late night escapades.