The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, have captured the imaginations of people for centuries. This celestial dance of lights in the Arctic sky is a natural spectacle that paints the night with vibrant hues, leaving onlookers in awe of the wonders of the universe.
How they are created
The Northern Lights are a natural light in the sky that occurs in the polar regions of the Earth. The lights are created when fast-moving charged particles (mostly electrons) from the Sun collide with atoms and molecules in the Earth’s atmosphere.
These electrons come with winds from the sun. When this wind approaches the earth, the earth’s magnetic field repels it except around the magnetic poles. There, some of the particles escape into the magnetic field. When that happens, the aurora borealis are created.
A similar phenomenon called the Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights, occurs in the Southern Hemisphere near the Antarctic region.
Color
The most common colors of auroras are yellow, green and red produced by oxygen. But reddish and purple hues caused by nitrogen are also sometimes seen. As seen in image number 2. When the aurora borealis are very dim, the eye does not distinguish any colors and then they appear gray-white. Northern lights are not related to weather conditions on the ground and temperature has no effect on their visibility.
The aurora borealis are most often seen as veils moving across the sky. As seen in image number 3. The veils can be a hundred and up to several thousand kilometers long, but much thinner, only a few hundred meters. It is most common that the aurora borealis originates at an altitude of 90-130 km.
Where can you see the lights
The northern lights can best be seen in countries that are closest to the north pole. Such as Scandinavia, Canada, Alaska. Sometimes you have to go north in those countries to see the lights. It depending on how close the countries are to the pole. But also sometimes you can see them in countries further south.
The northern lights are best seen over the winter time in the evening and past midnight, in clear skies and when it is dark outside. Best to go outside the light pollution of cities and towns to enjoy the aurora borealis. In the summer in the Arctic, like in Iceland, it is too bright for the northern lights to be seen in the summer, although they are certainly also present at that time of year.
The Northern Lights are never at a fixed time in the evening as some people think. Whether they are visible depends on the solar wind, so it is often a matter of luck that you see them. You cannot therefore order aurora borealis.
Northern lights history and ethnography
Both the northern and southern lights are named after the Roman goddess Aurora, goddess of the dawn. She renewed herself every morning and flew across the sky to herald the arrival of the sun. Áróra has two siblings, the brother Sunn (Helíos) and the sister Luna (Selena or the moon goddess).
The ancient Greeks were adept at discussing the northern lights, and the oldest Greek reference to the magnetic lights can possibly be found in the book Meteorologica by Aristotle. There Aristotle mentions glowing clouds in the sky. Although it may seem incredible, the magnetic lights can appear in the Mediterranean Sea, although it is extremely rare.
The Northern Lights have been a source of fascination and inspiration for cultures throughout history. Many indigenous people in the Arctic have cultural and spiritual beliefs related to the lights. The Inuit believed that the northern lights were the spirits of the dead playing some kind of ball game with walrus heads. Various Indian groups in North America had their own ideas about the northern lights. Some believed they were fallen adversaries seeking revenge, while others believed the lights were caused by fires lit by dwarfs in the north.
Final words
The northern lights have had different meanings for people throughout the ages. People have either studied them or thought they meant something. All these people are then agree at this is a spectacular natural light show. Today, people from all over the world come to Northern Europe to see the Northern Lights.
If you are going on a winter walk to see the northern lights. Then here is an article about what might be good to take with you.