Scientists have learned that in most instances northern and southern auroras are mirror-like images that occur at the same time, with similar shapes and colors. The weather conditions are vital. Auroras are the visible portion of the dissipation of the energy which has entered the magnetosphere from the solar wind. There was no waving, whistling, or staring at the aurora, in case it reached down and touched you… with unwelcome results. Think of it this way: it's like the sun burping out these really small particles (the electrons) into the air. The aurora often first appears as an arc, stretching from east to west across the sky. Guide to Iceland: Northern Lights in Iceland | When & Where to See the Aurora. When enough particles bombard the atmosphere, the oxygen and nitrogen emit so much light that we can see it here on the ground. The luminosity can fluctuate violently, particularly near local midnight when explosive bursts of activity called substorms are triggered. The lights are known as 'Aurora borealis' in the north and 'Aurora australis' in the south. The northern lights don't just produce beautiful colours, they also make sounds like claps, crackles and static. Earth isn't the only planet to have auroras — scientists have found them on Neptune, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. The greater the number, the higher the level of solar energy and the more likely you are to see the lights! All rights reserved. The most common colours of the northern lights … The solar magnetic field is embedded in the gas and is pulled by the wind deep into interplanetary space. Many peoples believed that the Northern Lights could deeply affect them: In Chinese and Japanese cultures, it's still believed that a child conceived under the aurora will receive good luck and good looks. When you're huddled in the snow, wrapped with blankets and waiting for your first glimpse, remember that it's this elusive quality that maintains the aurora's magic, and what makes a sighting so special. The Menominee Indians of Wisconsin believed that the lights indicated the location of manabai'wok (giants) who were the spirits of great hunters and fishermen. It's easiest to see the Northern Lights during the depths of winter because the nights are longer and the icy cold results in less water vapour clouding the skies. The magnetosphere is broken near each pole by a cleft region. The northern lights we see are a small section of the "auroral oval" — a huge ring or crown of aurora above the Earth's geomagnetic north pole. You’ve probably heard about the northern lights. Ancient Finnish tales speak of an Arctic fox starting fires by brushing its fur along the snow, causing sparks to fly up into the sky. Throughout history, humans in the wildernesses of the world, in the dark of night, have gazed up in wonder at the iridescent bands of green, red, yellow, pink, purple and white lights swirling around the sky. The northern lights — also called aurora borealis (say "ah-ROAR-ah bore-ee-AH-lis") — are coloured lights that appear in the northern sky. http://www.gi.alaska.edu/. info@hiddeniceland.is, Our tours Photo credit: musubk via Visual Hunt / CC BY-NC-SA. Sounds technical, right? The Northern Lights are the stunning beams of light that dance across the arctic skies in winter. Oxygen at higher altitudes (about 200 miles above us) gives us ruby red auroras. Northern Lights Centre The Vikings believed that the lights were the reflection of the shields and armour of the female warriors — also known as the Valkyrie — who were immortal, or that it was the Bifröst Bridge that led those who fell in battle to their final resting place in Valhalla. Birkeland figured out that it was magnetic current flowing through the gases of the upper atmosphere that caused the aurora. How Stuff Works: How does the aurora borealis (the Northern Lights) work? That said, the aurora has been observed as early as August and as late as April. Telegraph: Northern Lights: celestial dancers or the souls of fallen warriors? In Roman myths, Aurora was the goddess of the dawn. The temperature above the surface of the sun is millions of degrees Celsius. Here, the official aurora-spotting season runs from October until March. Iceland is one of the most magical destinations in which to track down the lights. The higher the Kp index the better your chances. The northern lights appear 200 to 300 kilometers above the earth and are bright enough to be seen from space. 'Aurora australis' means 'dawn of the south'. He theorized that the aurora was caused by electrical charges concentrating in the Polar Regions. Of course, our relationship with the Northern Lights dates right back to the dawn of humankind, long before science explained them. \par Many cultural groups have legends about the lights. A painting by Peter Nicolai Arbo of a Valkyrie — a female Viking warrior, 1869, National Gallery of Norway. Photo credit: Trodel via Visual hunt / CC BY. The name "aurora borealis" comes from the French astronomer and scientist Pierre Gassendi. These particles leave our star in a steady stream that we call the solar wind, and are also fired from its surface during solar flares. Trips and tours abound, but Iceland is one of the best places for independent travel to the lights, where you won't be bound by an itinerary. Auroras originate in the ionosphere, the upper atmosphere 100-300 km above the Earth's surface. It's the civilisations of the north who have seen the most of the aurora borealis. People in northern Sweden believed that the lights were created by huge shoals of herring - an impressive display meant fishermen expected a good haul. Nitrogen at lower altitude produces the blue light and when particles collide with this gas at higher altitude, it produces beautiful purple and violet tones. Heading away from light pollution will maximise your chances of a glimpse, although the very brightest auroras can be seen from cities and even through thin clouds. The gases of Earth's atmosphere release different colours of light, depending on their type and their height in the atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. The Chinese saw serpents flickering in the skies, and Native American tribes attributed the lights to a range of things, including the spirits of dead hunters, a friendly giant catching fish in the sea, and fires lit by dwarves. Benjamin Franklin observed them during his trips across the Atlantic in the late 1700s. Willows know self defense + more cool tree facts, Gary and David Suzuki Learn How Fish Eat Trees. Rocket research is still conducted by scientists at Poker Flats, a facility under the direction of the University of Alaska at Fairbanks - see web page http://www.gi.alaska.edu/. Watson Lake, Yukon Territory Researchers have also discovered that auroral activity is cyclic, peaking roughly every 11 years. Terms & conditions, Hidden Iceland | Hólmaslóð 2, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland | +354-770-5733 | info@hiddeniceland.is, Private Golden Circle with Northern Lights Tour, Private Snæfellsnes Peninsula and Northern Lights Tour, Private Essential South Iceland 3 Day Tour, Private Essential South Iceland 3 Day Winter Tour, UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES – 4 DAY PRIVATE TOUR, ICELAND MUST SEE 6 DAY PRIVATE TOUR | SUMMER ITINERARY, ICELAND MUST SEE 6 DAY PRIVATE TOUR | WINTER ITINERARY, PRIVATE GRAND CIRCLE ‘RING ROAD’: 6+ DAY TOUR, Best Time To See Northern Lights in Iceland 2017, The Best Time to See The Northern Lights in Iceland. Some spoke of them as torches of giants in the sky or the souls of animals they hunted like deer, whales or salmon. You could even try to ensure your inbound and outbound flights are after dark, as some of the best views of the aurora are from high-altitude aircraft. The lights were believed to be a celestial battle between good and evil dragons who breathed fire across the sky. Without scientific explanation, their amazement and anxiety were transformed into myths and legends, as these people sought to decipher the meaning behind the light displays. Some of these particles are accelerated into the nightside ionosphere, causing brilliant auroras. Later in the night it may develop into rippling streamers, pulsating globes, a corona of rays that appear from a point high in the sky, or as scattered patches of light. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The Northern Lights are brilliant and often colorful displays created when particles emitted from the sun interact with Earth’s magnetic field and … And you should dress warm — the best place to see the northern lights in Canada is way up north in the Yukon Territories, so you're going to get chilly! While we can track the aurora is it’s happening, and understand roughly how it works, we still aren’t certain of when and where it will appear. In the folklore of the Aboriginals of eastern Greenland, the glowing lights are the souls of killed or stillborn babies. In Finland, where the northern lights are very bright, their myth involves a sly little arctic fox. (Note: 1957-58 was International Geophysical Year and the atmosphere was studied extensively with balloons, radar, rockets and satellites. Other aboriginal peoples believed that the lights were the spirits of their people. They are known as 'Aurora borealis' in the north and 'Aurora australis' in the south.. Finally, in the 1600s, Galileo Galilei and Pierre Gassendi witnessed them in all their glory. Predicting the timing and appearance of the aurora remains out of reach. In. The Northern Lights can easily be seen from Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Russia. Copyright © 2020 Todd Salat - Aurora Hunter® is a registered trademark. There are many different folktales about the northern lights. If you could see the Northern Lights from space, it would sit below the North Pole like a halo around Earth, tracing a path across central Alaska and Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and northern Scandinavia and Russia. Shades of red, yellow, green, blue, and violet have been reported. Throughout history, humans in the wildernesses of the world, in the dark of night, have gazed up in wonder at the iridescent bands of green, red, yellow, pink, purple and white lights swirling around the sky. The aurora borealis most commonly occur between 60°-75° latitude, but during great geomagnetic storms the auroral oval expands equatorially and can reach 30° latitude or further. Green or red light comes from excited atomic oxygen; purple light from excited molecular nitrogen. (Photo via Visual Hunt), Gary and David Suzuki Learn About the Northern Lights. The band is normally about 500-1000 km wide, its average position in Canada being over Yellowknife, NWT, to the West, and Grande rivière de la Baleine, Qué, to the East. Auroral displays can also be seen over the southern tip of Greenland and Iceland, the northern coast of Norway and over the coastal waters north of Siberia. This reaction encircles the polar regions of the earth and occurs at an altitude of 40-400 miles (65-650 km) in a zone called the "Auroral Oval.". Variations in colour are due to the type of gas particles that are colliding. Current theory states that the energy driving auroras is obtained from the solar wind, a gas composed primarily of protons and electrons, blowing away from the SUN at supersonic velocities of 300-1000 km/s (seePHYSICS). The wind interacts with the Earth's magnetic field, distorting it to form the magnetosphere (ie, the comet-shaped cavity, blunt end towards the sun, carved in the interplanetary medium by the Earth's magnetic field). However the best places to watch the lights (in North America) are in the northwestern parts of Canada, particularly the Yukon, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Alaska.

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