![]() Some Inuit believed that the spirits of their ancestors could be discerned in the auroral night sky. Later, among traditional peoples, explanations focused on deeply held religious beliefs. Nitrogen is more often associated with blue or purple lights dancing across the sky. ![]() In the case of the aurora, the different colours come from the different gases – particles interacting with oxygen create a yellow or green aurora (although interaction with higher-altitude oxygen can produce all-red shows). When the electrons move back to their usual lower-energy orbits, they release a particle of light known as a photon. When the sun’s particles crash into the atoms, this sends the electrons into higher-energy orbits, away from the atom’s nucleus. In simple terms, the nucleus of any given atom is surrounded by an orbiting cloud of electrons. That reaction is at once simple and devilishly complicated, depending on your level of scientific understanding. When these particles collide with the earth’s atmosphere, they unleash a reaction within the nitrogen and oxygen atoms high above the earth. The aurora borealis occurs when storms on the sun hurl charged solar particles out into space. ![]() But when she shows up, she is the most unforgettable of beautiful ladies.’ Why does it happen? She expects that and, if you do, she might be tempted. You have to devote all of your time and attention to her. ‘You never know when she’s in a good mood. ‘Aurora is a diva with mood swings,’ is how Knut Hansvold, a native of Tromsø in northern Norway and a veteran northern-lights watcher, explains it. And there are times when it refuses to show up at all. On other occasions, the effect is more subtle, taking on the appearance of an eerie white-grey, transparent cloud shadow that drifts across the sky, refusing to take on recognisable form, then disappearing on the wind against a palette of stars. Sometimes they show up in all their glory, a rainbow spectrum of deep blues, indigos and greens. The lights are strongest right beneath the auroral ovals, which makes northern Norway a prime spot for Northern Lights sightings.There are, of course, an infinite variety of forms, colours and intensities that the aurora can take on. They manifest as a dynamic light show across the skies high up in the Northern hemisphere near the Arctic Circle. They can look like a swirl of colours dancing through the sky, rays of light reaching up into space, and sometimes they appear as a giant fissure stretching across the sky. The Northern Lights appear to those on the ground in different forms. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the dawn, and Borealis is derived from the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas. The Northern Lights are also known as the Aurora Borealis, a name given to them by scientist and astronomer, Galileo. The Northern Lights and where to find them The Northern Lights are like a mighty symphonic ballet with muted sound. It’s hypnotic and impossible to ignore.īut perhaps stangest of all: There is complete silence, while cascades of green, yellow, violet and red dance across the sky in silent harmony. Pale and modest at first, soon intense and vibrant, transforming the dark sky into a mighty display of nature's power. Suddenly, a flicker of light in the sky grabs your attention. I t's dark, you're outside and everything is quiet.
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