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A new year of sky action has begun...
| My first chase of the new year. On January 17th 2024 I woke to a frozen world with -4C temps and a layer of snow, trusting model guidance I drove north after sunrise to get into a better location for snow showers and instability. During a break in Garvagh a large convective snow cell approached from the coast and began making its way inland towards me. I got the drone in the air and for the next 30 min's got treated to an impressive sight of this mean cell dropping dramatic snow curtains across the Winter landscape. This was followed by a visit to the north coast where I obtained aerial footage of Binevenagh covered in snow with spectacular low cloud and fog covering the peaks complimented by a glory. This turned out to be a highly rewarding and photogenic Winter chase. One page report with 22 images and 2 video clips. - REPORT. |  |
| This report covers days two and three of the January 2024 Arctic cold spell across N. Ireland. On the 18th while in Dungiven a snow devil formed and actually impacted us while we stood outside before crossing the road while rotating through a garden then vanishing, this was followed by heavy convective snow showers over Glenshane Pass. On the 19th I discovered that much of Lough Fea was covered in ice for the first time since 2010, the view from the drone revealed beautiful abstract patterns which were fascinating to observe, nature's art. Also on show was an optics display surrounding the sun poised over the frozen lake. One page report with 12 images and 1 video clip. - REPORT. |  |
| On March 3rd 2024 a CME glancing blow from a filament eruption arrived delivering a G1 geomagnetic storm. At first the potential didn't look good with a slow solar wind speed however a sustained period of southerly Bz at -14 really got my attention. I almost didn't go aurora chasing however a hunch told me to make the effort to drive to the north coast to avoid advancing cloud. After filming an impressive rainbow with the drone I then drove to Benone beach. Upon arrival the aurora went into a dramatic outburst reaching G2 levels with vibrant rays reaching 70 degrees high with green and red colours visible to the naked eye. As the aurora danced I observed comet 12P/Pons-Brooks from the beach, at one stage the aurora was with the comet at same time which made for a fabulous experience. This aurora caught me completely by surprise, an exciting and photogenic event. One page report with 14 images. - REPORT. |  |
| First storm chase of 2024 which began with a bust day on March 29th then on the 30th I teamed up with Colleen Webb on Glenshane Pass to take advantage of 400 CAPE during prime heating when we hoped lift from the Sperrins would aid with cells. A bowing cluster of red cores arrived over the hills bringing our first gust front of the season while dumping a barrage of hailstones over Glenshane associated with a white core on radar. The cell then gave us several good rumbles of thunder making this our first thunderstorm intercept of Spring. A second chase to Lough Fea resulted in more rumbles making this my earliest Spring thunder since 2009. One page report with 10 images and 1 video clip. - REPORT. |  |
| On April 16th 2024 a slow moving CME arrived a full day later than expected generating G1 conditions with a negative Bz component. As darkness fell on a moonlit night the stats didn't look encouraging for anything interesting, especially for inland, however reports began to appear online showing auroral beams readily visible from a wide area which seemed to defy expectations. With clear skies I got the drone in the air and was shocked to easily detect the aurora on camera, then the aurora went into outburst before midnight with red naked eye beams visible above streetlights through Auriga and Perseus. The drone captured this intense cluster of rays beautifully over the Sperrins from near the LP of Cookstown which made for a pleasant surprise. One page report with 3 images. - REPORT. |  |
| April 26th 2024 - A wonderful clear night over the Sperrins which lured me out into a chilly Spring evening of comet hunting and aurora chasing. I packed my 10" F/5 reflector and drove to Beaghmore and set-up the gear in a lay by under a very dark sky. At 22.45 I made my very first observation of C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS at mag +10 complete with a tail in Virgo, this comet might become our best since Hale-Bopp this October. Then I detected a faint auroral glow so I drove to the fairy tree in the middle of nowhere. Then suddenly at 1am a formation of ghostly pillars appeared in the sky like phantoms all around the fairy tree which made for a surprising photo opportunity and the perfect end to this fun session. One page report with 6 images. - REPORT. |  |
Martin McKenna
