What Causes the Northern Lights and Where to See Them
The Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, is a natural visual phenomenon that occurs due to peculiar solar activity. As the sun rotates, magnetic fields twist and knot together, then burst to create “sunspots”. Particles from the sunspot regions throw particles of plasma into space forming a “solar wind”. The solar wind travels approximately 40 hours until it reaches Earth’s magnetic shield. The particles combine with atoms and molecules, and this, as well as the altitude and speed, result in the various colors and curtain-like waves that make up the captivating display of lights. The best view of the Aurora Borealis can be seen commonly in the Northern Hemisphere, hence
Reeves, Eileen Adair., and Helden Albert. Van. On Sunspots. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2010. Print.
Also due to the fact that much of Its territory is located within the northern pole of the Tundra. alternating 6 month periods of light and dark. This is also the reason why the Tundra receives cold weather; at its degree of latitude the suns rays end up. hitting the region obliquely, thus causing less solar heat. Here are the temperatures of the Tundra in general.
Well, it all depends on the different gases in the Earth's atmosphere and the height the gas is in. The red around the arc, cloud, or streak shapes are nitrogen molecules they're low in the atmosphere at about "100km/60 miles" (www.athropolis.com) yet the red in the shape is oxygen in a high altitude "above 300km/185 miles." (www.athropolis.com) The yellow/green color is oxygen in low altitude "between 100-300km/60-185 miles." (www.athropolis.com) The blue and purple are hard to see in nights sky but they are created by hydrogen and helium in high altitude Some of them move, brighten, or flicker all of a sudden. You could see them more "during the most intense phase of the 11 year sunspot cycle." (The World Book Encyclopedia, 895-896)
...a spectroscope from parts included with my lab kit to visualize and analyze the spectra of several light sources. In the second part of the lab I was to build a pinhole viewer. I was to then take the pinhole viewer and measure the diameter of the sun and moon. After completing both parts of the lab, there were several questions that need addressing. This paper examined and answered those questions.
Lightning is caused by the separation of charges. The top of cumulonimbus clouds are freezing with ice crystals moving around. The collision of the ice crystals creates an electrical charge. In the colder areas of a cloud, which is the top, the charges are positive. The negative charges make up the base of the cloud. This creates lightning within the cloud. The surface of the earth has positive charges and because positive charges are attracted to negative charges, it creates are spark of lighting between the ground and the base of the cloud.
Sunspots are the most apparent features on the Sun’s surface or photosphere. Anyone could use a filter such as a welder’s helmet to observe groups of sunspots. A sunspot consists of two regions, the umbra and the penumbra. The temperature of the umbra can be as low as 4,000 K and the penumbra that surrounds the umbra has a temperature of about 5,500 K which contrasts to the photospheric temperature of 6,000 K. The difference in temperatures makes the sunspots appear dark against the brightness of the
a. It is plasma; Corona discharge; it sparks unlike normal lightning which goes from cloud to ground, Corona discharges happens when there is an imbalance in electrical charge.
Bailey, P., & Worthington, N. (n.d.). History and Applications of HAARP Technologies: The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program. Pegasus Research Consortium. Retrieved April 25, 2011, from http://www.thelivingmoon.com/45patrick_bailey/03files/HAARP97.html
Two things that cause seasons on the Earth are the Earthś orbit around the sun, and the tilt that Earth has on its axis. First of all, the Earth orbits around the sun, while the Earth’s axis stays consistent throughout the revolution. This occurs because the sun is the center gravity of our solar system, and each planet revolves around it, including our planet. Therefore, the part of the Earth that is tilted toward the sun can change as the Earth orbits the sun. While the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, direct light hits it and the Northern Hemisphere has summer because it is closer to the sun and these countries receive longer hours of daylight. During this time of the year, the Southern Hemisphere is experiencing winter
Bright bursts of light seemed to coincide with supernovas and the disappearance of visible light and x-ray radiation and radio interference. It is now believed that the blinding bursts of light are solar stars imploding, but the light that is given off is misleading. Due to unknown yet reasons, some stars give off short bursts of radiation, some give off longer duration amounts. These supernovas distort their surrounding solar systems and the visible light of the gamma-ray bursts bypass us as an observer...
of light shooting down from space. Above our head we cans see rays going out
When we look up into the sky, what do we see? During the day, we often will find the sun. The sun is much more than a ball of fire that we see in our daily lives. The sun gives earth life, from the condition of the season of the life that is produced. Overall, when we think of the sun we think of heat and light, but one might question; how does the sun produce the heat and light that is necessary for the earth to sustain life? The sun is also known as a star, just like the stars we see at night that illuminate the night sky. Stars are categorized by the Stellar Classification system, which accounts for spectra appearances from the light of a star. According to the chart, the sun is considered a G2 V, the G class of stars have a temperature between “5200 to 6000 K and have a weaker hydrogen line and neutral metals,” (“Stellar Classification,” 2014). A common name for the sun is the dwarf star, and “the V classification indicates that the sun is a main-line sequence star and generates energy by nuclear fusion,” (“Sun,” 2014). Similar to the Earth’s structure, the sun is made up of an inner core and atmosphere, having an understanding of the structure of the sun will help in understanding how heat and light are produced.
So, in August, in the northern hemisphere, the Earth is tilted toward the sun, which means longer days and summer
Bioluminescence is the production of light from an organism by a chemical reaction. (all authors) It is utilized by terrestrial and marine organisms, for predatorial, attractive, protective, communicative, and identification advantages. (first one) The cookie-cutter shark utilizes an illuminated underside to attract prey. (first) Bioluminescence can create a strong flash of light for protection against a predator. Bioluminescence is a primarily marine phenomenon. In contrast, bioluminescence is essentially absent (with a few exceptions) in fresh water, even in Lake Baikal. On land it is most commonly seen as glowing fungus on wood (called foxfire), or in some luminous insects. The light intensity is usually highest at night and lowest during
The Aurora Borealis is made when storms on the the sun form solar winds, or large streams of charged particles streaming toward the earth.These streams could have upward of ten million megawatts of electrical power. That is enough power to light up Los Angeles. It generally takes about three days for these streams of particles to reach the earth's upper atmosphere, or ionosphere. When these charged particles hit the earth's atmosphere, they excite the atoms contained in the atmosphere. These excited atoms have a higher energy state that usual and so want to get back to a more normal energy state. The excited atoms give off excess energy in the form of heat, or the case of the Aurora Borealis, light. The trillions of excited atoms give off enough light so that we can see the light from where we live on the ground, 43-200 miles above us.