(Photo: NASA). Ancient armies in the sky. During ancient times, people who have witnessed the display of the aurora borealis at night time means that they have just witnessed the “Dance of the Spirits”, and this is according to the Native American folklore.Here are some of the known legends that people believed in the past: These charged ion particles burning different molecules creates what we know as the Aurora Borealis, and all their epic beauty. Aircraft crews on transpolar flights and astronauts experience higher doses of radiation during periods of intense solar activity. The color of the aurora depends on what kind of electrons encounter which type of atoms. He was the purple-winged God of the cold northern wind and was often portrayed as very strong and violent tempered. Others have a darker myth and believed that an evil spirit created the lights. As such, these are the areas where the solar winds break into the atmosphere to do their thing. The Best way to see the Aurora Borealis is by seeking the Northern Lights in one of remote places in northern Europe, Canada, or the United States. However, this color is mostly not visible to human. The effect is known as the aurora borealis (or the Northern Lights) in Northern hemisphere latitudes. Practice Makes Perfect Northern Lights Pics. Jupiter and Saturn have auroral ovals on both hemispheres. Acc… The celestial display of coloured lights across the night sky is both beguiling and inspiring in equal measure. The best place to see the Aurora australis is in Antarctica in the winter months. Let’s have a small mythology lesson. It provided Canadian scientists with their first photographs of the entire aurora region. It occurs most frequently in a belt of radius 2500 km (1550 mi) centered on the magnetic north pole. Astronomers have also spotted aurora on Uranus and Neptune. The best place to see the Aurora borealis is Alaska, USA in the winter months when it is constantly (24 hours) of darkness. These lights have same colors as those in the north, but occur on the south pole. The aurora borealis is named after the Roman goddess of the dawn. Facts about Auroras10: the ultraviolet color. Major solar storms can cause power outages, such as the 1989 blackout in Quebec. In fact, it glows much brighter than Earth because its tremendous size gives it more electrical potential. Northern lights colors are all about the air up … Aurora Borealis Facts. Although there is an aurora borealis that occurs in both the northern and southern hemispheres, the southern hemisphere locations are much more challenging. Sources: Canadian Space Agency, NASA, Discovery News, PhysOrg.com, Nunavik Tourism, Subscribe to Can Geo Today >Digital Edition >Our FREE Newsletters >Cover Vote >. All rights reserved. Aurora comes from the Latin word aurorae, meaning dawn, and Borealis comes from the Latin boreas, meaning the north wind. Auroras in the southern hemisphere are called aurora australis. Image credit: stephen Carter/Shutterstock. The Aboriginals often associated the lights with fire, which has lead to many different folktales in the Aboriginal culture. The traditional green light is formed by oxygen molecules colliding with ions located about 95 km above the earth. What creates the vibrant colors of the Northern Lights? Quebec lost power for 12 hours. Facts about Auroras 9: spectacular shot. Oxygen in the upper part of the atmosphere can cause green or red light. The lights there are, however, slightly different from Earth’s, because of their different atmospheres and poles. If you go to the Northern hemisphere latitude, the northern light is called aurora borealis. Facts About Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) Renuka Savant Nov 03, 2020 . According to Roman and Greek mythology, Aurora/Eos renewed herself every morning and arose from the sea in her chariot, carrying a pitcher from which she sprinkled dew upon the earth, as she flew across the sky towards the sun, announcing the arrival of the sun. They believe that the lights are the spirits of the dead, playing football with the head of a walrus. Below are some of the facts about the Aurora Borealis: Even though Auroras are seen at night, there are actually caused by the sun. Click here to learn more. It is said that the Greeks prayed to him when they were threatened by Xerxes, Boreas caused winds strong enough to sink 400 Persian ships. This zone extends over northern Scandinavia, Iceland, the southern tip of Greenland and continuing over northern Canada, Alaska and along the northern coast of Siberia. This natural phenomenon usually occurs in areas known as the 'auroral zone' near the poles of the Arctic in the north and Antarctic in the south. We further acknowledge and recognize that our work reaches across all of the distinct First Nations, Métis Homelands and Inuit Nunangat, and for this we are grateful. Here are other interesting facts about aurora borealis for you: Facts about Aurora Borealis 1: aurolal zones. Some tribes believe that the lights are bush fires in the spirit world. Canadian Geographic is a magazine of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society. The aurora borealis or northern lights is a natural light display in the Earth ‘s sky. You can enjoy a spectacular photo for the cameras are more sensitive than the human eyes. However, Galileo thought an the northern lights were caused by the sunlight reflected from the atmosphere, which brings us to our next fact: Time for a small chemistry lesson. Auroras are relatively dim, and the redder light is often at the … For example, there are some Inuit tribes who say that the spirits of animals they hunted are in northern lights. During the 1989 geomagnetic storm, the northern lights could be seen as far south as Florida and Cuba. Greetings, everyone– I’m Northern Lights Ned and I’m here to remind you that there is a science to your Alaskan Adventure. Once seen, it is never forgotten. You are, of course, more than welcome to join us on our ” Tromsø Northern Lights Tour – Aurora Borealis ” this winter. The phenomenon of aurora can only be seen if you go to the auroral zones. Aurora Borealis. The Earth’s magnetic field extends thousands of kilometres into space. JUPITER: For example, solar storms cause huge auroras on Jupiter. Alaska . In fact, they are not just names of any kind of person, no, these are names of ancient Roman and Greek Gods. They can appear as sheets or arcs of light, or rays. There's no doubt that the farther north you go, the better your chances are of seeing the impressive Northern Lights. A coronal mass ejection, or an ejection of energetic plasma from the Sun, can travel at speeds of up to 10 million kilometres per hour. Aurora is the short term, which is also known as Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, and is a phenomenon often visualized at the North pole skies. Pretty cool! Therefore, it has always come naturally to people to be reverent and to show respect for this northerly light phenomenon. Inuit used to fear the northern lights, believing that the phenomenon could decapitate people who travelled at night by dogsled. The Royal Canadian Geographical Society family of sites: Canadian Geographic student geography challenge, Help designate an official bird for Canada, Grade 8 students exploring Parks Canada sites, Compare countries' statistics and explore our changing world, Innovative projects in the developing world, The revolution of mapping in the First World War, Canadian pilots heroically earn their wings, Canadian Geographic magazine in french: Géographica, Accessibility Standard for Customer Service Plan. The aurora borealis or northern lights is a natural light display in the Earth's sky. In fact, they are not just names of any kind of person, no, these are names of ancient Roman and Greek Gods. In this article titled 30 interesting Northern Lights facts, we are going to explore numerous things like their shape, the tales of legends and the true cause of such spectacular array of lights that humans have failed to replicate so far. She gave birth to several children, one of them was a son named “Boreas”. Aurora borealis is far from a new phenomenon. When we say “Aurora Borealis”, we are not talking about the Disney princess Sleeping Beauty, who just happens to have the same name. Astronauts on board the International Space Station are at the same altitude as the auroras and see them from the side. In March 1989, an explosion on the sun was so powerful it was like thousands of nuclear bombs exploding at the same time. In Europe one of the best places to see the Aurora borealis is Tromso, Norway and the city of Murmansk on the Kola Peninsula of Russia. Inuit used to fear the northern lights, believing that the phenomenon … The Aurora or Polar Lights are an amazing sight, that can been seen from the Earth or above the Earth in the Artic or Antarctic. Why these occur or are seen as such high latitudes is due to the magnetic field of Earth being weakest around the poles. Spectacular and dazzling, the Northern Lights have a really difficult scientific name – Aurora Borealis. In 1852 its founder, Sir Edward Sabine, determined that magnetic disturbances are related to the appearance and extent of sunspots (cooler, highly magnetically-active areas on the sun’s surface). And we’re not talking about the Greek and Romans this time. Auroras occur mostly in high latitudes, near the poles, because electrons … A Native American tribe in Wisconsin used to believe that the lights were the ghosts of their defeated enemies who were looking for revenge and tried to rise again. Pink and green are the most common colours of the lights, although they can also be seen in red, yellow, violet and blue. It’s definitely worth taking a trip to the far north or south to look at the lights with your own eyes. This happens with an average speed of 400km/sec, yet the speed can vary between 250 and 2500km/sec. There is an actual reason why these words are also names. All in all, our dear Aurora has fascinated human kind for centuries and will keep on doing so as long as we exist. The aurora borealis is named after the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora , and the Greek term for “wind of the north,” boreas . The Aurora Borealis / Australis is a fantastic phenomenon…. The spectacle of the northern lights is described by early storytellers and has given rise to many legends. As the temperature on its surface rises and falls, the sun boils and bubbles. In very northern regions, the lights can occur at any time of the day, but we can’t see them unless it’s … Given the latitude, sightings of the lights … The northern light occurs on planets such as Jupiter, Uranus, Mars, Saturn and Neptune. Ready or not, here’s another small chemistry lesson. 17 Science Fact About the Aurora! Other planets in the solar system have similar displays of lights. But you can also see it blue or red. Move over computer-assisted special effects. 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