"Northern Lights"
The 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. The charged particles originate in the magnetosphere and solar wind and on Earth they are directed by the Earth's magnetic field into the atmosphere.
Most aurora occur in a band known as the auroral zone which is typically 3° to 6° in latitudinal extent and 10° to 20° from the magnetic pole. During a geomagnetic storm, the auroral zone will expand to lower latitudes.
The diffuse aurora is a featureless glow in the sky which may not be visible to the naked eye even on a dark night and defines the extent of the auroral zone. The discrete aurora are sharply defined features within the diffuse aurora which vary in brightness from just barely visible to the naked eye to bright enough to read a newspaper at night.
In northern latitudes, the effect is known as the aurora borealis (or the “Northern Lights), named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas, by Pierre Gassendi in 1621.
Auroras seen near the magnetic pole may be high overhead but from farther away they illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red.
Auroras often display magnetic field lines or curtain-like structures and can change within seconds or glow unchanging for hours, most often in fluorescent green.
In Scandinavia, you can see the aurora all over Norway, Sweden and Finland. However, the best places are above the Arctic Circle in the auroral zone.
The aurora is most frequent in late autumn and in winter and early spring. In the time span between the autumn equinox and the spring equinox (21st September to 21st March), it is dark the whole time between 6 p.m. and 1 a.m. and this provides the maximum chance of seeing the aurora in suitable weather conditions and with increased solar activity.
Date: 16th March 2012
Location: Skibotndalen, Troms, north Norway close to Norway/Finland border
Most aurora occur in a band known as the auroral zone which is typically 3° to 6° in latitudinal extent and 10° to 20° from the magnetic pole. During a geomagnetic storm, the auroral zone will expand to lower latitudes.
The diffuse aurora is a featureless glow in the sky which may not be visible to the naked eye even on a dark night and defines the extent of the auroral zone. The discrete aurora are sharply defined features within the diffuse aurora which vary in brightness from just barely visible to the naked eye to bright enough to read a newspaper at night.
In northern latitudes, the effect is known as the aurora borealis (or the “Northern Lights), named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas, by Pierre Gassendi in 1621.
Auroras seen near the magnetic pole may be high overhead but from farther away they illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red.
Auroras often display magnetic field lines or curtain-like structures and can change within seconds or glow unchanging for hours, most often in fluorescent green.
In Scandinavia, you can see the aurora all over Norway, Sweden and Finland. However, the best places are above the Arctic Circle in the auroral zone.
The aurora is most frequent in late autumn and in winter and early spring. In the time span between the autumn equinox and the spring equinox (21st September to 21st March), it is dark the whole time between 6 p.m. and 1 a.m. and this provides the maximum chance of seeing the aurora in suitable weather conditions and with increased solar activity.
Date: 16th March 2012
Location: Skibotndalen, Troms, north Norway close to Norway/Finland border
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Also in: North Norway - March 2012
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