What I enjoyed about writing this blog on the Aurora Borealis!

Hey there,
                  
            During the last few weeks I have been writing about the Aurora Borealis (The Northern Lights)
I didn't just pick this topic off the top of my head, I actually am very interested in the topic as I wanted to know more behind this magnificent light display! To see them would be an experience of a life time and its certainly on my bucket list for the future!

I have definitely learnt a lot from writing this blog because from the beginning I only knew what the Northern Lights looked like, but I didn't have a clue why they were there or how they were formed. But now I understand it well!
Writing this blog has really made me aware of all these beautiful natural events that happen in our world and how amazing they really are!

Credit: Jason Brownlee/jasonbrownleedesign.com

I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog and hopefully you have learnt something new, I am looking forward to writing more blogs in the future as I thoroughly enjoyed writing this one!

Emily ✵

Where are the best places to see the Aurora Borealis?

Hey there,

                  Although I couldn't tell you exactly when to go and visit the Northern Lights, I hope this blog post could be more beneficial by telling you about some of the best Northern lights viewing points and offer interesting activities in case you don't get to see the Aurora on your journey.

Svalbard, Norway
Svalbard is an island belonging to Norway and is well into the Artic Circle. It's in between Norway and the Northpole. You have good chances of seeing the Aurora in Svalbard as it has a high latitude. 

Image: Kitty Terwolbeck

Kakslauttanen, Finland
In Kkaslauttanen in Finnish Lapland, you can watch the Auroral displays from the comfort of your own glass igloo in the Kakslauttanaen Arctic Resort. You also can stay in a log cabin which has an open fire and a sauna in it. Outdoor activities such as a reindeer safari and dog sledging are available and are the best of fun during the heavy snowfall in Winter.

Image :Kaba

Jukkasjärvi, Sweden

Swedens first ice hotel is in the village of Jukkasjärvin the Kiruna region. You can see the Northern Lights by night flight which operates from Jukkasjärv and you can admire Sweden's starry skies in Esrange Space Center if the Aurora isn't visible.

image: Ragnar Th Sigurdsson, Alamy

Reykjavik, Iceland

Reykjavik is one of the popular places to go and see the Northern Lights because it is very affordable and accessible. If you don't get to see the lights there is plenty to do there, as in visiting volcanoes and blue ice. On the way to the capital from Keflavík International Airport is The Blue Lagoon geothermal spa which stays steamy all year round. And also don't miss visiting Iceland's Game of Thrones locations while you're in the country!          

Image: Sarah1990

Northen Canada

Canada is more expensive compared to the other places on this list. The majority of the country, including  provinces such as Yukon, Northern Saskatchewan,Novia Scotia, Newfoundland, and British Columbia are covered by the Aurora Oval.

After watching the Auroral displays, you can fill the rest of your holiday with skiing at resorts, visiting cities and there are even whale-watching opportunities!

Image :Studiolit

Emily ✵

References:
https://www.skyscanner.net/news/6-best-places-see-northern-lights-winter-2015-2016

When is the best time to see the Northern lights?

Hey There,

                    When is the best time is to see the Aurora Borealis, well If I could answer this question I would be a Millionaire!! so, the best I can do is to give you a rough guide based on timescales.

The appearance of the Northern lights are very difficult to predict any further in advance than about two hours before it appears in the sky. The Northern Lights occur throughout the year but the bright summer months make them invisible so the best times are focused on other months of the year.
                  
January to March is probably the three most popular months for people visiting the Northern lights because of the snow to play in and the dark nights for the auroral displays.

From early- April until late- August the Northern lights are visible with scientific equipment but not to the human eye. But there is so much to see and do during these months as there are 24 hours of pure daylight in Northern Scandinavia which is rather welcoming.

September and October are recommended months to see the Northern Lights for those who want to avoid the cold Arctic winter weather. Theses are the only two months when the lakes are ice free and the Auroras are visible.September brings a short autumn but the colours can be quite magical, but best of all you can often see two Auroras for the price of one!

Credit: Markku Inkila

November and December are the months where there is Arctic weather. November is when the landscape changes so rapidly, its as if autumn becomes winter overnight. Due to snow cloud cover, the Auroras aren't often that visible during the day, but the shorter days also bring darker skies which increase the amount of time you can see the Auroral displays.

The Best Time of Day
To watch the Northern Lights the skies must be dark ,so daylight hours are not recommended. Once its dark the Aurora can be visible at any time of day. From my research people usually see them between 9pm and 1am but some people have seen them as early as 4pm and as late as 6am!



Emily ✵ 


References:
https://www.skyscanner.net/news/6-best-places-see-northern-lights-winter-2015-2016

The History and Mythology of the Aurora Borealis



Hey there,

                 From prehistoric times, humans have been fascinated by the auroral lights.

The earliest known account of northern lights appears to be from a Babylonian clay tablet from observations made by the official astronomers of King Nebuchadnezzar II.

Cro-Magnon cave-paintings: "macaronis" may be the earliest depiction of aurora (30,000 B.C.) Image Credit: Crawford Library, Royal Observatory, Edinburgh.

The first printed document about the northern lights was produced in 1490.

The term “Aurora Borealis” was first  used by Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655) and Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), both of whom witnessed a light display on 12th September 1621. The name comes from the name of the Roman goddess of the morning, Aurora.

After the northern lights of the year 1621, the auroras were missing almost totally during the next hundred years. That period is known as the Maunder minimum. It was ended by the enormous northern lights of the 17th March, 1716.

In 1790, Henry Cavendish made scientific observations of the aurora. He used a technique known as triangulation to estimate that the aurora light is produced around 60 miles above Earth's surface. In 1902-1903 Kristian Birkeland, a Norwegian physicist, discovered that auroral light was caused by currents flowing through the gas of the upper atmosphere.

Spectacular auroral eruptions have given rise to mythology. There have been many different beliefs about the aurora and its association with the spirit world. Stories have been told of people's whistling bringing down the aurora to cut off the whistler's head. The aurora lights have also been seen as spirit ancestors to help hunters find their prey.

Emily ✵

References

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/themis/auroras/aurora_history.html
https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/northernlights.html

How are the Northern Lights formed?

Hey there,
  

                  The northern lights, or aurora borealis, offer an entrancing display of colourful lights— but just what causes this magical natural sight?

The Aurora Borealis is caused by collisions between gaseous particles in the Earth's atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere. Different colours are due to the type of gas particles that are colliding. The most common colour, a pale yellowish-green, is made by oxygen molecules located about 60 miles above the earth.

Blue light is produced by nitrogen and rare all-red auroras are produced by high-altitude oxygen.

Image Credit: NASA

Above the surface of the sun, the temperature is millions of degrees Celsius. At this high temperature, collisions between gas molecules are frequent and cause explosions. This causes free electrons and protons to be thrown from the sun's atmosphere and escape through holes in the magnetic field. These charged particles move towards the earth by the solar wind, and many are deflected by the earth's magnetic field. However, the earth's magnetic field is weaker at either pole which allows some particles enter the earth's atmosphere and crash with gas particles. These collisions throw out light that we see as the dancing lights of the north

Here is  a video that is creative and simple by the Department of Physics, University of Oslo:

Emily ✵

References:
http://www.aurorahunter.com/how-the-aurora-borealis-form.php
http://www.northernlightscentre.ca/northernlights.html

What are the Aurora Borealis?






Hey there,
                  Today I'm going to explain what the Aurora Borealis is!

                   
                The Aurora Borealis are dancing lights in the sky, they come in different colours such as red, yellow, green, blue, violet and pink. But pale green and pink lights are most common. They come in many forms from patches or scattered clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains that light up the sky . You can see them above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres , but the Aurora I will be talking about are in the northern hemisphere.

  The Aurora Borealis are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. In my next blog I will be explaining this in more detail.

 

      By Jerry MagnuM Porsbjer - www.magnumphoto.se,

The Aurora Borealis can be seen in the northern hemisphere,  I will be telling you where the best places are to see them for this year.
I will be blogging about when the best time is to see them, but they are unpredictable and it's hard to say with any scientific certainty when the best time to see them is! Technically, they're 'on' all year round.

Emily ✵

References:
https://www.skyscanner.net/news/6-best-places-see-northern-lights-winter-2015-2016

http://www.northernlightscentre.ca/northernlights.html

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9985818

Introduction


Hey there,
               
              My name is Emily and I'm going to blog about the Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights).
I will be telling you about the history behind them, how there formed and where and when to see them! I am excited to share what I have learned through writing these blogs :)  Enjoy!

Emily ✵

Background photo credit: CoolKengzz/Shuttershock