Southern Hemisphere NLC Season ?

[leolion]

Having just noted a little activity here on the forum set a chain of thought off re southern hemisphere NLC. I understand their 'season' runs from January to March and it could be of interest to see the phenomena 'darn sarth'.
The only posts I found on 'Ice in Space' (an excellent Aussie amateur astronomy forum ) originated from the northern hemisphere last northern summer.
A Google provided some information from Antarctica.gcmd.nasa.gov/records/AADC_SOE_NLC.html [http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=21393/url]
www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=34316 and this from the ISS spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/crew/exp6/spacechronicles3.html. Anyone visiting this forum from the antipodes please chime in. PS LeoLion aka LionLeo last season ( Len Entwisle )

[Bill W]

Southern Hemisphere NLC, my favourite topic!
I even applied for some grant money to go and do some work on them from the Falklands, bounced as not being significant enough.
Most of the early work was in the 60's by Benson Fogle. (Do a google on the name and NLC and you should find his papers.)
Apart from the sub antarctic islands there are very few places at the optimum latitudes.
If anyone want's to go on a NLC observing expedition to Tierra Del Fuego in January count me in!

[markt]

I guess because of a lack of population at such southerly latitudes (compared to 'up north') the whole thing is never going to be as well documented.

Maybe the way forward with research in this part of the world would be to install remotely operated cameras at suitable locations? Though I have to say a trip to Tierra Del Fuego would be fun

[Bill W]

I'm dam*ed if I can find the reference but I'm pretty sure there was (and perhaps still is) a Russian camera project, based in Punta Arenas.
If you look at the seminal paper by B. Fogle and B. Haurwitz "Noctilucent Clouds", space science reviews (6), 1966. There are maps of both the northern and southern polar region and all the stations/observers at the time. An interesting contrast between North and South.

[leolion]

Hi again. I did not realise how far north even the South Island of New Zealand is (!!!! ). Dunedin and Invercargill have quite active amateur astronomers so perhaps they could provide some information re latitude 45.5 to 46 south?. This being on the assumption that the southern seasonal activity mirrors the northern hemisphere latitude wise and displaced by about 6 months?
The BAA have a CD Memoir of the Mesospheric Clouds Seminar 2002 August 19-22 at Perth . The reference is Sugiyama, T., RM Mac-Mahon, N. Ueno, P. Ueno, P. Ammosov, GA Gavrilyeva, S. Ammosov, GA Gavrilyeva, S. Nikolashkin,, AM Zadorozhny, A. Nikolashkin, AM Zadorozhny, A. Semmenov, N. Semmenov, N. Persev, and V. Persevere, and V. Sukhodoev. Sukhodoev. “CCD imaging of NLCs in South America and Russia since 1998?E in Mesospheric Clouds 2002 , M. "CCD imaging of NLCs in South americas and Russia since 1998 " Mesospheric Clouds E in 2002, M. Gadsden and ND James (editors), Memoirs of the British Astron. Gadsden and ND James (editors), Memoirs of the British Astron. Assoc. , Vol. Assoc., Vol. 45, Aurora Section, 20 , 186. 45, Aurora Section, 20, 186. London London , UK, 2002 (ISBN 0-902749-14-5) , UK, 2002 (ISBN 0-902749-14-5) . Sorry it is a biggy ;D . Punta Arenas and Ushuaia look to be the places used for the CCD program . Any meteorologists on the Falklands these days (or do we rely on weather satellites and no longer use radiosondes ?).

[Bill W]

Maybe that's the one I'm thinking of! I have the disc somewhere, I'll need to check it out.
When I was investigating the possibility of doing some observing from the Falklands I was told there was the chance of setting up my equipment at " the old weather station". This was years ago now but I think the expression about sums it up.