FREE ESSAY ON AURORA BOREALIS

AURORA BOREALIS

AURORA BOREALIS
Imagine a cold October night, you walk out to your car and something catches 
your eye. You step further into the street be it busy or not, and you begin to turn in
360 
circles. For what your eyes behold is far from anything you have ever seen. A circle of 
green and blue swirl through the night sky, I could best describe this as two ballroom 
dancers doing a Waltz through the night sky. They flow, they glide so gracefully that 
they capture you and keep you entranced for a very long time. 
This my first experience viewing the amazing Aurora Borealis, it did not matter 
that people were watching, or that the roads were iced over and that I could not stand on

my own two feet very steadily. For as unbalanced on my feet I might have felt, I felt 
very balanced watching these "ballroom dancers" in the night sky. October 1996, 
Fairbanks, Alaska.
As enthralled as I was with aurora borealis, so were many other cultures. In Middle-Age
Europe the Aurora's were thought to be the reflections of heavenly warriors. As a kind of
posthumous reward the soldiers that gave their lives for their King and Country were
allowed to battle on the skies forever. The northern lights were the breath of these
soldiers as they resumed their fight in the sky. The Scots saw the lights as "Merry
Dancers", while the Swedes thought the lights performed folk dances and polkas.
The power of the auroras is said to be fruitful for the earth, they draw animals to
certain areas so that they are plentiful for hunters. The Scandinavian people would say
the lights are sunshine reflecting off of the herring in the northern sea. A welcome omen
for the fishermen to reel in large amounts of fish. According to folklore tradition
shared by some Alaskan Eskimos, the northern lights are the souls from those whom died
from massive blood loss. Be it from childbirth, murder, or suicide. The spirits from
these bodies would play a game similar to that of soccer in the night skies, but they
would use either the head of a walrus or of a human. It would seem as though you could
hear the chattering as the jaws thrust toward the players. 
There are reports that the auroras have the ability to heal, however; their ability to
bring on ailments is far more founded. Researchers from the USSR published results that
stated that people are more likely to have fatal heart attacks when the auroras are at
their strongest point. The myth and mystery of aurora borealis is so widespread. It
encompasses so many countries that it is impossible to share all their thoughts. My
favorite folklore is that of the Eskimos of the lower Yukon River in Alaska. They would
describe the Aurora's as the dancing souls of their favorite animals: deer, seals,
salmon, and beluga whales. 
Under the spell of the Aurora's the Universe comes to life and people will be drawn to
their loveliness, no matter what the myths or folklore share, the Aurora's are magical
and spell binding for all whom have the opportunity to experience them.
The Aurora's are never absent from the earth, they are just often not seen. Viewing them
is easy if you are fortunate enough to live in the favored locations. The Aurora's are
prominent in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres and spend most of their time around
the edges of the earth where they are said to dance solely for the penguins and the polar
bears. However, due to the tilting towards the sun and irregularities in the earth's
magnetic field, the aurora is 20-30% brighter in the northern hemisphere.
"Where the auroras are most common people tend to be scarce." Examples of these areas
that have phenomenal views of the auroras would include; Goose Bay, LaRonge, and
Yellowknife, Canada; Barrow, Alaska; Tromso, Norway; and parts of Russia. Amidst these
areas the auroras can be seen from the autumn to the spring as long as the nights are
cloudless and the temperature is cold.
If you are fortunate enough to live near the favored locations previously mentioned you
are most likely going to have your opportunity to see the spectacular show. The "ovals"
of the aurora borealis or the "haloes" of auroral light spill out into the hemisphere
close to the poles, they actually expand so that the displays spread out towards the
equator. People whom live close to the auroral zone have better luck than those of us
whom live further away do. 
The northern lights are not visible during the daylight hours, thus excluding the
twilight hours of summer. Intense and dramatic aurorals tend to be more common around the
spring and fall equinoxes. This would allow persons whom live close enough to the auroral
zone to view them as well.
It is said if you view the auroras just after the sunset you will see what appears to be
a large cirrus cloud that has been silvered with a soft, slow-shifting light, and that
the auroras will be spectacular later in the evening. It is often true that if you have a
spectacular show one night, the next night is bound to be just as terrific. The auroras
seem to follow cosmic conditions that are right for the lights for several days. Bright
auroras seem to follow a 27day interval, thus making it easier to view them. Note that
the best time to view this exquisite site is on a clear night during the hours closest to
midnight.
People most interested in the activity of the auroras will obtain daily forecasts for the
"Space Environment Sciences Center" located here in the United States. It is here that
they collect and maintain data on the earth's magnetic field. They use this information
to predict what type of auroral activity you maybe able to see. A "quiet magnetic field"
is equivalent to a quiet aurora, one only viewed in the auroral zone. While that of an
"active magnetic field" is equivalent to a spectacular, dramatic outburst that may spill
over the auroral zones, allowing others to view their magnificent forms of arcs, bands,
orbs, donuts, spirals, and hazes. These displays that you will see can be in a vast array
of colors.
Due to rapid changes these forecasts are only good for a few hours after they are issued.
This location can help you to be in the right place, at the right time to view these
wonders.
The auroras can be connected to the climate as well. In the old days the weather forecast
was based on the activity of the auroras. They were however, often wrong. Even after the
turn of the Century, one could read in the Encyclopedia Britannica that the auroras and
thunderstorms were the result of the same phenomenon, just different form of an
electrical discharge. 
Scientists are able to predict the activity and intensity of the auroras due to the
rotation of the sun every 28days. Electron and proton particles that join together create
a flow out from the dark hollows of the sun. When the sun rotates, streams of these
particles travel toward the Earth, increased solar winds cause auroral displays when the
particles transfer their energy through the atmosphere at about 65miles above our head.
It is certain that the energy that feeds the auroras does come from the sun. The form of
this energy travels in the solar wind at a speed of nearly 400km/sec (900,000mph)
therefore it may take days to reach the earth, whereas light travels in approximately
8mins.
The power of solar winds is equivalent to the output of gigantic electrical generators
streaming into the Earth's magnetic field, the power from the solar winds provides enough
energy for charged particles to turn on the northern lights/auroras. The light of the
auroras is emitted through the molecules and atoms of the Earth's atmospheric gases; this
process is somewhat similar to the illumination of a neon sign or a picture tube in your
television set. Scientists say that the people in Anchorage, Juneau, and the Lower 48 are
in for the most brilliant displays as we approach the year 2000. During this time frame
the researchers are expecting to see numerous sunspots and solar flares. Researchers will
title this year a "solar maximum" due to the abundant unpredictable solar flares, the
solar maximum and the years that precede and follow it will make aurora predictions
tougher for scientist. 
Scientists say that this may hinder their ability to predict the activity of the lights,
thus making it more of a challenge for those who follow them. Followers will have to
depend on their senses. Maybe some will be surprised and hear the whispers, or the
crackles that some say comes when seeing the auroras. The voice of the auroras is still a
mystery. Scientists have yet to tape the sounds of the auroras but will continue their
attempts at getting them on tape. Some scientists believe this to be unreasonable due to
the fact that the auroras dance in the thin air of our ionosphere approximately
60-200miles above us and that the ionosphere can't travel the sound waves that far in a
timely manner, thus making it hard to hear the voices. People whom have heard them will
tell you that it is "the whispers of the dead" trying to communicate with those of us on
earth. It is believed by some, that if you wave to them they will come to greet you or
become even livelier. While others believe that if you do answer them, then do so in a
whisper. The auroras are to be treated with kindness and respect. 
The Northern Lights/Auroras are poetry; they are nature's true light show. They are
elementary particle physics, superstition, mythology, and folklore. The northern lights
have filled people with wonder, and inspired artists; they have frightened people to
think the end is at hand. No matter what the myths or folklore's share, the Aurora's are
magical and spell binding for all.
Bibliography
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. http://www.1mv.uit.no
2. http://dac3.pfrr.alaska.edu
3. http://www.g1.alaska.edu
4. Michael Macy, "Alaska", Mallard Press, 1991
5. Oliver E. Allen, "Atmosphere", Time-Life Books, 1983
6. Candace Savage, "Aurora", Greystone Books, 1994