Land of Living ‘Night’ Skies
Aurora Borealis, commonly known as the Northern Lights, are a spectacle of nature. When you observe the aurora borealis, you see beautiful dancing waves of colour, but what is happening to create the wonderous waves is a wild event.
Science
The Northern Lights (there are Southern Lights too, aurora australis) occur when highly energized particles from the sun slam into Earth’s upper atmosphere at speeds of up to 72 million kilometers per hour.[1] Our planet’s magnetic field redirects the particles towards the poles creating the visual phenomenon. The colours you see when the Northern Lights appear are the result of a few factors including altitude, atmospheric density and the dominant molecules in the atmosphere in your location. The most popular colour typically associated with the lights is green, produced by oxygen molecules. Other colours include pink and red, blue and purple and are the result of particles colliding with nitrogen (pink and red), hydrogen (blue) and helium (purple) molecules.
History
The earliest known citing of the northern lights dates back to 2600 B.C. in China.[2] Mother of the Yellow Empire Shuan-Yuan, Fu-Pao, spoke of lightning moving around a star and illuminating the entire area. Thousands of years later, the Aurora Borealis got its name from famed astronomer and scientist Galileo in 1619 A.D. who chose Aurora, Roman Goddess of dawn and Boreas, Greek God of the north wind as it’s namesakes.[3]
The collision of particles and molecules that create the Aurora Borealis occurs daily, often invisible to our naked eye. If like me, you’re enthralled by the night sky or if you’ve never really paid attention, there are two easy ways to make your sky watching a richer experience:
- Avoid light pollution – if you really want to see the night sky in it’s glory, aurora borealis, or even just the stars, distance yourself from lights. If you live in a city or large town, take a drive 15-30 minutes into the country.
- Wait for cooler weather – the best time to see the northern lights in Saskatchewan is October to March when we have fewer daylight hours.
If you’re keen to know exactly when and where to see the lights, groups like Saskatchewan Aurora Hunters on Facebook provide daily updates. It’s also good practice to check the local weather forecast, heavy cloud cover or fog are good reasons to reschedule your viewing plans.
Fun Fact: auroras happen on other planets too! The gas giants: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune have strong magnetic fields making the presence of auroras not that surprising, but space exporation has discovered auroras on Venus and Mars also, where magnetic fields are weak.[4]
-Paige Sandvold is a Marketing Manager on the Revenue Growth Team at Directwest
[1] https://www.space.com/15139-northern-lights-auroras-earth-facts-sdcmp.html
[2]https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/themis/auroras/aurora_history.html#:~:text=The%20oldest%20known%20auroral%20citing,A.D.%2C%20a%20drawing%20of%20the
[3] https://www.space.com/15139-northern-lights-auroras-earth-facts-sdcmp.html
[4] Ibid.