CWL

cruisin down da street in my six fo’

Auroras in New York?

“Here’s an excuse to stay outside tonight that doesn’t (necessarily) involve any drunken shenanigans: according to Accuweather, we may be able to see a display of the northern lights over the city Saturday! They write: “The [solar] flare is also expected to cause vibrant northern lights from the Arctic as far south as New York, the Dakotas, Washington and Michigan, with a smaller possibility of it going into Pennsylvania and Iowa, even Kansas.” — Accuweather

Images: Accuweather

From Article:

A solar flare that occurred around 2 a.m. Thursday morning may create a spectacular display of northern lights Saturday evening. The midlevel flare had a long duration and was directed at Earth. According to AccuWeather.com Astronomer Hunter Outten, who stated that this flare was “impressive”, these are the best conditions for seeing a direct effect on our planet. On the Kp index, the flare has been categorized at 6 to 8. This is a scale for measuring the intensity of a a geomagnetic storm. The 6 to 8 rating means that the effects of the radiation will have a greater reach.

The radiation from such a flare may cause radio wave disturbances to electronics such as cell phones, GPS and radios, causing services to occasionally cut in and out. While traveling slower than was originally anticipated, the flare effects are moving towards Earth at 1000 km per second.

The flare is also expected to cause vibrant northern lights from the Arctic as far south as New York, the Dakotas, Washington and Michigan, with a smaller possibility of it going into Pennsylvania and Iowa, even Kansas. The lights are currently estimated for 8 p.m. EDT Saturday arrival, with a possible deviation of up to seven hours. If the radiation hits much after dark settles on the East Coast the lights may be missed and will instead only be visible for the West.

Solar flares create auroras when radiation from the sun reaches Earth and interacts with charged protons in our atmosphere. The effects are greater at the magnetic poles and weaken as they move south from the Arctic or north of the Antarctic. In the northern hemisphere the results are called the aurora borealis, with the aurora australis being its southern counterpart. The result is a spectacular display of light and color for areas with clear enough views.

Reminder: The Amateur Astronomy Association of NY is hosting a starfest event and will be located in great viewing conditions (unless it rains or gets too cloudy) for the aurora as well.

The Forgotten Corners of Uptown NYC

samaralex:

Navid Baraty captured the wonder of the Times Square crowds as they watched the Curiosity rover landing. 

second photo is pretty much my face when ever the full moon is out.

The Forgotten Corners of Uptown NYC

Now that I think of it, my favorite smoking spots of NYC are all forgotten places, that is, places that are never really thought of when you’re thinking of a nice place to walk or promoted in magazines or even mentioned all that much when articles talk about NY. The calming parts of the hood I guess. And it’s not even by choice, these are just the places the NYPD has driven us to because of the idiotic marijuana policies that turn innocents to criminals by law. But to anyone considering a trip to the upper west side of Manhattan, it’s not all gloom up here. This is a nice little assortment of images I’ve taken of said places.

I can’t be the only one worrying “what about the TREES look what happened to the TREES”. Like shit man look :/ peep the before and after (top 4 is before bottom 4 is after), it’s heart breaking.