Photo credit: Dora Miller / Captured Contrast

In this Earth and Beyond StarDate Susitna audio, we hear about local efforts to see comet PanSTARRS, the spring equinox, the moon’s social calendar, and probable aurora activity.  Kathleen Fleming writes, hosts, and produces the show. Audio is 9 min 40 sec.

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Northern lights were overhead for observers in the Upper Susitna Valley Saturday night and Sunday morning (St Patrick’s Day green, plus red and purple). This display was a result of a coronal mass ejection (CME) that occurred on the sun last Friday 3/15. In this photo you can see rays which reveal the earth’s magnetic field lines. An overhead aurora like this is called a corona.