Take a look: Aurora photos from the Muskogee area

Photo credit: Becky Faught near Sequoyah Bay State Park

If you didn't go out to look at the display of Aurora Borealis Thursday night, you missed out on a real treat! I went "aurora chasing" with my kids in the evening and we got to get our first glimpse of the Northern Lights up near Sequoyah Bay State Park.

Social media has been flooded with photos from all over the country. Auroras were sighted as far south as central Mexico and the Caribbean. You can view a large gallery of photos from around the world here at SpaceWeather.com's realtime aurora gallery (lots of pages of pictures there).

I posted on Facebook and Twitter, asking for local residents to submit photos that they took, and here are some of the Muskogee-area shots. A big thanks to all who responded! If you have additional photos you'd like to submit, send me an email at JamisonFaught@MuskogeePolitico.com, or reply on Facebook or on Twitter/X. 

Aurora alert: go outside after dark and look, Oklahoma!

UPDATE: view Thursday night's aurora photos from the Muskogee area in this post!

From @RyanHanrahan this evening in CT

The coronal mass ejection from Tuesday's X-class solar flare slammed into Earth's magnetic field hours ago, triggering a severe geomagnetic storm, and the Aurora Borealis ("Northern Lights") have already been sighted this evening as far south as the Bahamas! If you live in Oklahoma and want to see this tremendous atmospheric wonder, go outside and look to the north when it gets dark!

The geomagnetic storm is likely to last all night long, with "sub-storms" of varying intensity shifting auroras all over the map. 

Aurora Watch: Oklahoma has a good shot at Northern Lights on Thursday

UPDATE: view Thursday night's aurora photos from the Muskogee area in this post!

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Taken by Twitter user @Jen_McClure10 in Marlow, OK - May 10th, 2024

Heads-up, Oklahoma! Thursday night may be one of the best chances we have of seeing the Aurora Borealis ("Northern Lights") in years! As the result of a powerful solar flare, a severe geomagnetic storm is predicted for Thursday that could send auroras as far south as Alabama and Texas, or deeper.

Quick, non-scientific layman's explainer: The sun goes in regular periods of activity and inactivity. We are currently in the middle of the solar maximum portion of the current Solar Cycle 25, when the sun is frequent solar storms, flares, and sunspot. The current cycle is much more active than the previous one (2008-2019), and the past few months in particular have had several large X-class solar flares that have sent Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) in Earth's direction that have, in turn, produced geomagnetic storms with auroras sighted as far south as Arizona and Alabama. 

Rep. Cole tapped to chair powerful House Rules Committee, Rep. Lucas leading Science, Space, and Tech

Oklahoma's two most senior members of the United States House of Representatives have been tapped to head up House committees. Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04) will chair the powerful House Rules Committee, while Rep. Frank Lucas (OK-03) will chair the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

House interim study considers how to best utilize space port at Burns Flat

Committee Considers Avenues to Utilize Burns Flat

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Tammy Townley, R-Ardmore, hosted an interim study Friday morning before the House Government Modernization Committee to consider avenues to help Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority (OSIDA) reach its full potential as a competitive industrial authority.

The Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority (OSIDA) is a development authority created in 1999 to operate a 2,700 spaceport near Burns Flat. The Oklahoma Air & Space Port and Aerospace Industrial Park at Clinton-Sherman Airport (CSM) features the fourth largest all-weather runway in North America at 13,503 feet long, an adjacent 5,193-foot runway and facilities that include an air traffic control tower, six large hangars and 96 acres of pavement for parking and storage.

“I really think that we’ve got a jewel out there,” Townley said while describing her first visit to Burns Flat. “Why are we not doing something with this?”

Oklahoma State Director of Aeronautics Grayson Ardies spoke on the value of the state’s airport system. He said the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission works to ensure a thriving aviation and aerospace industry and grow Oklahoma’s aviation and aerospace workforce, an important part of which is the preservation and improvement of the state’s 108 public airports.

Steve Fendley, president for the unmanned systems division of Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, said Kratos opened a facility in Oklahoma because of the existing aerospace hub within the state, as well as the state incentives, supportive community and affordable cost of living.

Tulsa Air and Space Museum to receive NASA Space Shuttle Crew Compartment Trainer

Tulsa Air and Space Museum to receive NASA Space Shuttle Crew Compartment Trainer

TULSA, OK – The Tulsa Air and Space Museum announced they will receive a Space Shuttle Crew Compartment Trainer from NASA.

The full-size Space Shuttle Crew Compartment Trainer was used to train astronauts during the Shuttle Program.  The Shuttle Trainer is a high-fidelity life-size replica of the Shuttle nose, cockpit and crew compartment of a shuttle, and will be added to the Air and Space Museum’s NASA collection.  The Shuttle Trainer exhibit will host educational programs and be used for special and private events in and around the artifact.

Legislature passes bill naming Rosette Nebula as State Astronomical Object

Legislature Passes Bill Naming Rosette Nebula as State Astronomical Object

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Legislature today passed House Bill 1292, which designates the Rosette Nebula as the state astronomical object. It passed the Senate 31-12.

House Bill 1292, by Rep. Nicole Miller, R-Edmond, names the Rosette Nebula in the Monoceros constellation as the official astronomical object of Oklahoma.

“Our state has a long connection with the space industry,” Miller said. “Every year, hundreds of people from around the country gather in Oklahoma’s panhandle to stargaze at Black Mesa State Park, and by naming a state astronomical object, we’re helping to promote tourism in our state and encourage STEM education.”

Rep. Kenton Patzkowsky, R-Balko, served as a coauthor of HB 1292 and represents District 61, which includes the panhandle.

“The Oklahoma Panhandle, which is home to Black Mesa State Park, is known for some of the darkest night skies in the United States, which makes for fantastic stargazing opportunities,” Patzkowsky said. “Combined with Black Mesa being the highest point in the state, we already attract one of the largest stargazing parties in the country. Having an astronomical object to call our own will increase the interest in this activity and boost tourism dollars for our area.”

Miller said one of her District 82 constituents, Bill Murrell, is involved in the Oklahoma Astronomy Club and brought the designation to her attention.

HB 1292 passed the House 88-9 in early March. It was authored in the Senate by Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman.

“We’re learning more about the universe every day,” Standridge said. “I hope this designation will inspire future Oklahoma astronomers to add to that knowledge with new discoveries.”

Having passed both legislative chambers, the bill is now available to be signed into law by the governor.