Chuck, what an amazing instrument! -- Joe --- On Wed, 8/4/10, Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> wrote: From: Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Aurora To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Wednesday, August 4, 2010, 9:52 AM I checked the auroral oval too, before I went out last night, and wasn't expecting anything based on how far north it was. In my basement, I have a tiny first-surface mirror glued to a small rare-earth magnet, suspended from my ceiling on a long piece of fine fishing line. I shine a small, cheap red laser pointer on it, from a clamp about ten feet away, and note the reflected beam on a graduated target on the wall about 20 feet away from the magnet. When the earth's magnetic field begins to shift, from solar CME's, the magnet responds and gently twists on the line. By observing the amplitude of the laser dot's movements, I can deduce how strong the solar flux hitting us is at that moment. Last night, I detected no movement, further indicating that there would probably not be a show. _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com