Thursday, February 28, 2008

Aurora Borealis: Nature Lights Up the Skies

All it takes is for the earth to have an atmosphere and the sun to eject ions at speeds up to 1200 km/second then BAM! You’ve got some unbelievable mother nature action
Aurora happens in both the southern and northern hemispheres, particularly in the polar zone. It is called Aurora Borealis (also known as Northern Lights) in the Artic region and Aurora Australis in the Antartic region. Streaming plasma clouds, composed of fast moving charged particles, form a solar wind.
interaction of the solar wind with the earth’s magnetic field that traps some of these charged particles. These trapped particles then flow along the magnetic field lines of the earth into the upper most regions of our planet’s atmosphere. That’s when the lights become manifest and their dance begins
Aurora australis as seen from a Space Shuttle
Red and green Aurora in Fairbanks, Alaska
Aurora sightings in Oklahoma City
Northern Lights over a house in Iceland
Unknown location
Northern Lights - Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Aurora over Arena, Wisconsin
Northern Lights shine above
Aurora australis captured
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