Look for anything other than just the moon and stars when you're out stargazing. You will be completely captivated by the night sky if there are no ominous clouds to obscure your view of the starry expanse. And if you ever get the chance to witness the Northern Lights or Auroras, you will have a magical experience!
Geomagnetic storms can cause various problems for Earth, but on the bright side, they're the only reason we get to see these incredible storms in the first place.
A stunning photograph of aurora borealis taken over the night sky in northern Canada has been made public by NASA. This photograph was chosen to represent "Astronomy Image of the Day" and was published online.
Read Also: NASA Earth Observatory's 'Most Breathtaking Photos' of June 2022!
The World at Night
As part of The World At Night (TWAN) project, the photograph was taken by the astrophotographer Kwon O Chul, who lives and works in Korea. TWAN is a worldwide effort that exhibits breathtaking nighttime photos and time-lapse recordings of iconic landmarks across the world against the backdrop of cosmic wonders.
An explanation for the shot was supplied by Kwon O Chul, who stated that "gushing solar winds and bursts of charged particles from the Sun resulted in multiple rewarding evenings of auroras back in 2014 December, close to the top of the past 11-year solar cycle."
The Northern Lights: A Violent Event
The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, is one of the most breathtaking natural phenomena that can be observed in the sky of Scandinavian nations.
However, despite its stunning appearance, this amazing light show is also quite a dangerous event, as how Space.Com called it.
Energized particles from the sun crash into Earth's upper atmosphere at speeds of up to 72 million kilometers per hour (45 million miles per hour), yet our planet's magnetic field shields us from the onslaught of these particles.
This dramatic process evolves into a cinematic, atmospheric phenomenon that dazzles and amazes scientists and skywatchers alike.
Background
Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei invented the name "aurora borealis" in 1619, after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek god of the north wind, Boreas. The earliest known record of the northern lights is a 30,000-year-old cave painting in France.
Since then, cultures worldwide have marveled at the dancing lights and given them origin myths. One Inuit tradition says the northern lights are ghosts playing ball with a walrus head, while the Vikings thought it was light reflecting from the Valkyrie's armor.
The science behind northern lights was not theorized until the 1900s. Norwegian physicist Kristian Birkeland suggested sunspot electrons steered by Earth's magnetic field produced atmospheric lights. Birkeland's theory was proved right after his 1917 death.
Another aurora-like event on Earth is called STEVE ("Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement"). Like the northern and southern lights, STEVE is a bright, atmospheric phenomenon, but it's not flowing. Steven Petrinec, a magnetospheric and heliospheric physicist at Lockheed Martin Steven, described the emissions look "like a thin, purple arc and often include a green picket-fence structure."
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Trisha Kae Andrada
