The Northern Lights are actually the result of collisions between gaseous particles in the Earth’s atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun’s atmosphere . Variations in colour are due to the type of gas particles that are colliding.
What are the northern lights simple explanation?
The Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, appear in a clear night sky as swirling rivers of greenish-blue light. They move and dance unpredictably; sometimes barely perceptible, then suddenly growing vivid. In simple terms, the auroras can be explained as an interaction of the solar wind and the Earth’s magnetic field .
What even are the northern lights?
Answer. The northern lights, one of several astronomical phenomena called polar lights (aurora polaris), are shafts or curtains of colored light visible on occasion in the night sky . Aurora borealis – the Northern Lights.
Why don’t you whistle at the Northern Lights?
They want to take somebody from the Earth to come with them . So they could come down and take you if you look at them or you draw attention. That’s why we say never whistle at them. You’re not supposed to draw attention because they will find you.
What happens if you touch the Northern Lights?
The aurora is emitted between 90 and 150 km in altitude (i.e. mostly above the ‘official’ boundary of space, 100 km), so ungloving your hand inside an aurora would likely be fatal (unless a fellow astronaut immediately reattaches your glove and repressurizes your suit).
Which country is the best place to see Northern Lights?
- Tromso, Norway. Based in the heart of the aurora zone in the Norwegian Arctic, the city is widely regarded as one of the world’s best places to see the Northern Lights. ...
- Swedish Lapland. ...
- Reykjavik, Iceland. ...
- Yukon, Canada. ...
- Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland. ...
- Ilulissat, Greenland.
Who discovered the Northern Lights?
In the early 17th century, the astronomer and scientist Galileo Galilei named this phenomenon the Aurora Borealis. Aurora was the Roman goddess of dawn, and Boreas was the Greek name for the north wind.
Can I see the Northern Lights in the US?
While there are 50 states in the United States, you can’t see the northern lights in all of them . In fact, only a handful of states are far enough north to potentially see the aurora – and that only happens when the solar activity is particularly strong!
Do the Northern Lights make noise?
Listeners have described them as a faint rustling, clapping or popping. An observer in the 1930s said the northern lights made “a noise as if two planks had met flat ways — not a sharp crack but a dull sound, loud enough for anyone to hear.”
How long do Northern Lights last?
The Northern Lights most commonly appear between 5:00 pm and 2:00 am. They don’t usually exhibit for long – they may only show for a few minutes, then glide away before returning. A good display may last for no longer than 15-30 minutes at a time, although if you’re really lucky, they could last for a few hours .
Can you see Northern Lights with naked eyes?
Can you see the Northern Lights with the naked eye? Yes. If the Northern Lights are strong enough you can see them with your naked eye . However, most photographs of the Northern Lights are taken with special camera setups, and at least a long shutter speed.
What countries have the Northern Lights?
- Fairbanks, Alaska. In Fairbanks, Alaska, the sky glows with the aurora borealis. ...
- Yellowknife, Canada. The aurora borealis spreads out above Prosperous Lake in Yellowknife, Canada. ...
- Tromsø, Norway. ...
- Northern Sweden and Finland. ...
- Greenland. ...
- Tasmania and New Zealand.
How often do the Northern Lights happen?
Fortunately, they occur frequently. “The northern lights are happening 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year ,” said photographer Chad Blakely, owner of the northern lights tour company Lights Over Lapland. But that doesn’t mean they’re easy to spot; you need to be at the right place at the right time.
What time of year can you see the Northern Lights?
The best time to see the Northern Lights is between November and March , with the highest probability in the middle of winter (December, January and February). What is this? You need to have clear skies, and look for auroras between 10 pm and 2 am.
Does the Bible say anything about Northern Lights?
The northern lights is also mentioned in the Bible, in the book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament . In the 2,600 years old description it says:” I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north–an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light.”
What did the Vikings call the Northern Lights?
The Old Norse word for the aurora borealis is norðrljós, “northern lights”. The first occurrence of the term norðrljós is in the book Konungs Skuggsjá ( The King’s Mirror , known in Latin as Speculum Regalae ), written in 1250 AD, after the end of the Viking Age (the Viking Age dates ca.
Is it good luck to see Northern Lights?
The belief is that the lights were viewed as a celestial battle between good and evil dragons who breathed fire across the firmament. In Japanese culture, the belief is that a child conceived underneath the Northern Lights will be blessed with good looks, intellect and good fortune .
Can you fly through Northern Lights?
“ We can actually fly into the auroras ,” said NASA astronaut Don Pettit, a flight engineer for the orbiting lab’s current Expedition 30. “It’s like being shrunk down and put inside of a neon sign.”
What is the rarest northern light color?
It’s extremely rare to have an aurora without green . Green is the color people usually have in mind when they think of aurora. Above ~250km of altitude, the entities are extremely isolated and scares. The general density of the atmosphere is so low that particles rarely bump into each other anymore.
Can airplanes fly through the aurora borealis?
“ We can actually fly into the auroras ,” says eye-witness Don Pettit, a Flight Engineer for ISS Expedition 30. “It’s like being shrunk down and put inside of a neon sign.”
Why do the Northern Lights only happen in the north?
In the north, it is called Aurora Borealis and in the south, it is called Aurora Australias. Of the two poles, the aurora can be seen the strongest near the arctic circle in the Northern Hemisphere. The reason that the Aurora can only be seen at the poles has to do with how the Earth’s magnetic field acts .
Is Borealis A GOD?
1. Aurora Borealis is a natural phenomenon named after a Greek god and a Roman goddess . The 17th century astronomer, physicist and philosopher, Pierre Gassendi, saw the Northern Lights on a trip in the North and named them the Aurora Borealis. Aurora was the Roman goddess of dawn who woke up the world with her torch.
Why are the northern lights green?
The most common color seen in the Northern Lights is green. When the solar wind hits millions of oxygen atoms in the Earth’s atmosphere at the same time, it excites the oxygen atoms for a time and they decay back to their original state, when they emit the green hue we can see from the ground.
