THE WORLD OF AURORA
Are you ready to witness the spectacular light show happening on earth?
Then what are you waiting for? Plan your fall break accordingly.
where are the northern lights
The beautiful dancing lights in the sky are called AURORA BOREALIS. The word AURORA means Roman Goddess of Dawn and BOREALIS means the goddess of Northwind agglomerate AURORA BOREALIS. While lesser known, the lights in the Southern Hemisphere are called Aurora Australis.
In the 17th Century astronomer and scientist GALILEO GALILEI named this phenomenon as Aurora Borealis.But the earliest suspected record of the Northern lights is in a 30,000-year-old Cro-Magan cave painting in France.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND:
The Northern Lights are the result of collisions between the gas particles of the earth’s atmosphere with the charged particles from the sun’s atmosphere. In other words, neutrons colliding with electrons cause the northern lights. Scientifically the unique Colors of light produced by gas particles is called “Spectrum”. The Auroral spectrum is defined by the altitude it takes place. The color of light we see depends on the type of gas and wavelength it emitted. Most of the Auroral features are Greenish yellow. They can be pink, shades of red, blue and violet. Sometimes, the tall rays will turn red at thin tips and lower edges. For instance Nitrogen causes blue and deep red hues. Green appears in Aurora when solar particles react with oxygen at higher altitudes. Red Auroras are formed when the particles react with Hydrogen.On very rare occasions the Aurora can be deep blood red color. When there is more energy coming from the solar wind the Aurora will be brighter and more colourful.
There is another phenomenon that has been observed in 2016 by Aurora watchers from Canada, named STEVE abbreviated as “Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement”. It is a phenomenon of purple and green lights mostly mistaken for Auroras. In the Northern Hemisphere this phenomenon is visible in the ribbon of pink or mauve light. STEVE has a picket fence sometimes with columns of light passing through the ribbon. This occurs usually outside the auroral oval or auroral zone making the difference from auroras.
Photo taken on July 14, 2020, by Aurorasaurus Ambassador Donna Lach
AURORAS ON DIFFERENT PLANETS:
If a planet has an atmosphere and magnetic field, they should have an Aurora.Astronomers have seen Auroras on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. According to NASA, Jupiter has the most powerful Auroras in the Solar system. We cannot deny that electric potential plays a role in their generation. NASA scientist Mauk once said that at Jupiter,the brightest auroras are caused by some kind of turbulent acceleration process on which research is going on.
On Saturn the Aurors look red at the bottom and purple at the top according to scientists.Since the gas produced there is mostly Hydrogen so the light reflected is in UV range of spectrum which is not visible to the human naked-eye. Pink and purple auroras have also been noticed on Saturn using a spectrograph.
Mercury is a close planet to the sun in the solar system. The planet Mercury is too small and close to the sun and doesn’t have an Aurora.
Uranus and Neptune are known to have Aurorae in Ultraviolet radiation of spectrum.To find out more astronomers have launched JWST, James Webb Space Telescope on December 25, 2021. It is the largest and most powerful space telescope ever launched. JWST already created wonders just after weeks of its launch. Scientists are looking forward to what the observatory is going to be on different planets and their auroras.
BEST TIME TO VIEWNORTHERN LIGHTS-
Usually, Fall and Winter in the Northern Hemisphere are the best seasons to view the Northern lights. In this season we have longer hours of darkness and clear night skies. Generally, dark skies accord with the best view of it. October through March is the best period to view the Northern lights.
You can capture the Northern lights from your camera or using an iPhone. Three things to keep in mind to obtain a best view to capture The Northern Lights are
- Choose a spot of less pollution.
- Make sure it is at its peak point.
- Should be the darkest hour with a clear sky.
There are many websites which explain very well the capturing of the Northern Lights. Beforehand don’t forget to check the Aurora forecast websites. You can learn more from NASA Aurora page https://www.nasa.gov/aurora/.
BEST PLACES TO VISIT:
Aurora Borealis mostly occur at Polar regions within the radius of 2,500 km around the magnetic poles. This area is called Auroral oval.It happens at an average altitude of 110 to 200 kms above the earth’s surface. These Aurora ovals are mostly seen in higher altitudes like Alaska, Canada,North America,southern tip of Greenland,North coastal region of Norway and Siberia. Generally, this phenomenon lasts only for a few minutes. You can get a glimpse for a maximum of 15 to 20 minutes at once. That is also from 10 PM to 2 AM. Here is the list of best places where you can see the Northern lights almost every year.
- FAIRBANKS,ALASKA
- SVALBARD,NORWAY
- ROVANIEMI,FINLAND
- TROMSO,NORWAY
- EASTERN GREENLAND
- SOUTHERN ICELAND
- WHITEHORSE,CHURCHILL,YUKON, CANADA
- THE SHETLAND ISLANDS,SCOTLAND
- CHERRY SPRINGS STATE PARK, PENNSYLVANIA
- KIRUNA,SWEDEN
You can also check for some tour packages at your budget to see the most beautiful phenomenon on earth.
The beauty of Northern lights
DO NORTHERN LIGHTS MAKE A SOUND:
As we all know Light travels faster than sound,we are experiencing it first.But Aurora does make sounds rarely which is audible to human ear.Listeners described the sound of the Northern lights as a crackling/ clapping, whooshing and popping noise.
Don’t miss the chance to view aurora.This is worth viewing once in a lifetime. so, comment below which place you visit this year to view them.
