Just another fender bender

[invisible]

I shot this almost exactly a year ago (March 25, 2012). I might get out of the house to shoot the aurora tonight and possibly visit this location because it faces north. With the winter we're having here in Manitoba, I expect this area to be under at least a foot of snow. The temperature is expected to be -26ºC (-15ºF). What difference a year makes!

 

[tirediron]

Cool!

 

[manaheim]

haha... love that.

 

[pgriz]

Of course, you planned the shoot, by planting the sapling in the car wreckage eight years ago, then checked that it was appropriately grown last year, right?

Federico, the CME is supposed to hit Sunday night, but as you, I will see if I can find some clear sky (mostly cloudy at the moment) tonight. Not as cold as where you are, but overnight we're forecast to go to -14C. No clear views of the western horizon to see the comet, since my shot on the 13th.

 

[invisible]

Of course, you planned the shoot, by planting the sapling in the car wreckage eight years ago, then checked that it was appropriately grown last year, right?

You know me well

Federico, the CME is supposed to hit Sunday night, but as you, I will see if I can find some clear sky (mostly cloudy at the moment) tonight. Not as cold as where you are, but overnight we're forecast to go to -14C. No clear views of the western horizon to see the comet, since my shot on the 13th.

It will be -25ºC tonight, but no wind so we will have some marginal chances of surviving (I'm leaving a will, just in case). The forecasts we're using indicate fairly strong aurora activity tonight:
Current Regional Geomagnetic Conditions
Aurora Forecast

And pretty clear skies in the area we will be hitting:
Victoria Beach, Manitoba - 7 Day Forecast - Environment Canada

What forecast are you using?

 

[pgriz]

I was using www.spaceweather.com and the statement there is that they are expecting it on the 17th. Your link is more promising. As for the weather, the radar map shows a system of snowshowers extending in a band from Detroit to Montreal, and a bit further east. If the air mass moves due east, then we may get clearing, but if it moves north-east (the usual airflow), then I don't have a prayer of seeing the sky tonight.

As for survival tips, I'm sure you know them, but having the chemical hot-packs can help you keep the feelings in the toes and hands. I have a really ugly but delightfully warm wool hat (the kind with the wool still on the leather) with ear flaps and neck protector, and it is wonderful for keeping the noggin working even in very cold weather. Totally sucks as a fashion statement, unless you're doing a Mackenzie Brothers parody. Anyways - let us hope that at least one of us has some success, and if I was a betting man, I'd put the money on you coming back with something good.

 

[invisible]

I was using www.spaceweather.com and the statement there is that they are expecting it on the 17th. Your link is more promising. As for the weather, the radar map shows a system of snowshowers extending in a band from Detroit to Montreal, and a bit further east. If the air mass moves due east, then we may get clearing, but if it moves north-east (the usual airflow), then I don't have a prayer of seeing the sky tonight.

Aurora forecasts can be confusing. A forecast for the 17th could mean the evening from the 16th to the 17th. In any case, we should see something tonight if the skies cooperate. As you probably know, an aurora forecast can be way off sometimes. I've been in prime spots for shooting auroras (i.e., hours north of Winnipeg) with nothing going on, yet our smartphones showed the "current" aurora conditions as an active storm. So you never know. At the very least, being in a group out there in the dark with -25ºC is a nice bonding activity.

As for survival tips, I'm sure you know them, but having the chemical hot-packs can help you keep the feelings in the toes and hands. I have a really ugly but delightfully warm wool hat (the kind with the wool still on the leather) with ear flaps and neck protector, and it is wonderful for keeping the noggin working even in very cold weather. Totally sucks as a fashion statement, unless you're doing a Mackenzie Brothers parody. Anyways - let us hope that at least one of us has some success, and if I was a betting man, I'd put the money on you coming back with something good.

Hot packs rock, and they are a must. Where I live, ear flaps are OK, but balaclavas (over the ear muffs) are the way to go, even if we look suspicious

Good luck tonight.