THE AURORA
- An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic)regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere (thermosphere).
- On our earth, the aurora phenomenon occurs at the north and south poles. In the northern hemisphere the aurora borealis is commonly known as the “northern lights”. In the southern hemisphere the aurora australis is also know as the “southern lights”. This phenomenon occurs when particles in solar winds are pulled into the atmosphere by the earth’s magnetic force. The aurora is said to be continuously occurring between 100km and 500km above the earth’s surface.
- The area directly beneath each aurora oval is the best place to see the aurora most often. The cities located under the northern oval include Yellowknife, Canada; Fairbanks, Alaska and Lapland, Norway. Among these places, Yellowknife has the least geographical obstructions, such as mountains, to provide a high percentage of clear weather in the winter which results in a high viewing probability.
- The best viewing seasons of Aurora to be from mid-August to the end of September and from mid-November to mid-April. In Yellowknife, it is possible to see the aurora approximately 240 days of the year and when there are no obstructions such as heavy clouds, they almost always appear.
- The colours of the aurora range from the most common whitish-greens, to pinks, then to the rarer reds, blues and so on. Red is difficult to recognize with the naked eye, and a deep red colour is so unusual that many people who live in the north have never seen it. It comes in a variety of shapes: curtains, ruffles, bow, band, whirlpool, corona, but there are never two auroras of the same colour and shape. Finally, there is the aurora break-up comes with amazing speed and makes the night sky dance with awesome beauty. However, fast moving, colourful aurora can often last only a short time of around 10 minutes.
photo credits:www.eyehearttravel.com
