Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 470 views

    Physics Project

    Uploaded by

    api-365433240
    The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, are visible in the night skies near the magnetic poles of both the northern and southern hemispheres. They are caused by charged particles from the sun colliding with gas particles in Earth's atmosphere. The best times and locations to view the Northern Lights are in the northern parts of Canada, Alaska, Iceland, Norway, and Siberia during winter nights around midnight. Indigenous cultures developed many myths and legends to explain the mysterious lights, associating them with gods, spirits, fires, and other supernatural phenomena.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Physics Project

    Uploaded by

    api-365433240
    470 views3 pages
    The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, are visible in the night skies near the magnetic poles of both the northern and southern hemispheres. They are caused by charged particles from the sun colliding with gas particles in Earth's atmosphere. The best times and locations to view the Northern Lights are in the northern parts of Canada, Alaska, Iceland, Norway, and Siberia during winter nights around midnight. Indigenous cultures developed many myths and legends to explain the mysterious lights, associating them with gods, spirits, fires, and other supernatural phenomena.

    Original Description:

    Original Title

    physics project

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, are visible in the night skies near the magnetic poles of both the northern and southern hemispheres. They are caused by charged particles from the sun colliding with gas particles in Earth's atmosphere. The best times and locations to view the Northern Lights are in the northern parts of Canada, Alaska, Iceland, Norway, and Siberia during winter nights around midnight. Indigenous cultures developed many myths and legends to explain the mysterious lights, associating them with gods, spirits, fires, and other supernatural phenomena.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    470 views3 pages

    Physics Project

    Uploaded by

    api-365433240
    The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, are visible in the night skies near the magnetic poles of both the northern and southern hemispheres. They are caused by charged particles from the sun colliding with gas particles in Earth's atmosphere. The best times and locations to view the Northern Lights are in the northern parts of Canada, Alaska, Iceland, Norway, and Siberia during winter nights around midnight. Indigenous cultures developed many myths and legends to explain the mysterious lights, associating them with gods, spirits, fires, and other supernatural phenomena.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    also known as the Northern Lights

    Northern Lights can be seen in the northern or


    southern hemisphere, in an irregular oval centered
    over each magnetic pole. Researchers have
    discovered that auroral activity is cyclic, peaking
    roughly every 11 years. The weird phenomena
    occurs near the magnetic poles and northern lights
    have been seen as far as New Orleans in the
    western hemisphere. While similar locations in the
    east never experience the mysterious lights.
    However, in North America, the best places to
    watch the lights are in the northwestern parts of
    Canada, particularly the Yukon, Nunavut,
    Northwest Territories and Alaska. Auroral displays
    can also be seen over the southern tip of Greenland
    and Iceland, the northern coast of Norway, and
    over the coastal waters north of Siberia.
    (Bloom, n.d.) and (Northernlightscentre.ca, 2013)
    The Northern Lights happen due to gas
    particles colliding with charged particles
    from our sun's solar wind that get past
    Earth’s magnetic field. The color of the
    particles depends on the type of gas and
    how high the gas particles are found. For
    example, oxygen particles that are found
    80 km from the Earth create a yellowish-
    greenish aurora, while oxygen particles
    that are found up to 640 km create a rare
    reddish aurora color. Nitrogen particles
    form a blue-ish, purple-ish color.
    (Northernlightscentre.ca, 2013) and (O’Mahoney, 2019)
    Winter in the north is generally a good
    season to view lights. The long periods of
    darkness and the frequency of clear
    nights provide many good opportunities
    to watch the auroral displays. Usually, the
    best time of night (on clear nights) to
    watch for auroral displays is local
    midnight. Areas that are not polluted with
    artificial light are the best places to watch
    the polar lights. Towns in the north, in
    smaller communities, tend to be best.
    (Northernlightscentre.ca, 2013)

    The aurora lights are prominent in indigenous people's stories and mythology, since they
    look so beautiful, they had to be connected to some sort of magic. For ancient Greeks
    and Romans, aurora lights were a symbol of the goddess Aurora - sister of sun and moon
    gods. It was believed that Aurora caused the lights to alert her siblings that the new day
    is coming. In Europe, since the aurora lights were really uncommon, people believed that
    they were a sign of a huge tragedy. In Asian countries, people associate aurora lights
    with dragons or a sign that the unborn child is going to be beautiful. In North America
    people considered aurora lights to be a part of a life cycle - they were said to be the dead
    souls of their loved ones. For other indigenous people, they were either a fire created by
    their god Nanahbozho or fires created by dwarfs. The northern lights are also prominent
    in Norse mythology, where they are the glow of reflections of women warriors who
    often died in battles. Finland believed them to be a fox who ran so quickly that the snow
    from his tail was left on the sky. In Greenland and Iceland, they were connected to
    childbirth. The last legend from the Baltic States assumes that the northern lights were
    horse-drawn carriages on their way to a celestial wedding.
    (Super User, 2014)
    Bloom, L.B. (n.d.). 22 Best Places To See The Northern Lights In 2020. [online] Forbes.
    Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2020/12/30/best-places-
    to-see-the-northern-lights-in-2020/?sh=37307c6f77d7 [Accessed 13 May 2021].

    Northernlightscentre.ca. (2013). Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis Explained. [online]


    Available at: https://www.northernlightscentre.ca/northernlights.html.

    O’Mahoney, P. (2019). Curious Kids: what causes the northern lights? [online] The
    Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-what-causes-the-
    northern-lights-111573#:~:text=When%20the%20solar%20wind%20gets.

    Super User (2014). Mythology of the Northern Lights. [online] Theaurorazone.com.


    Available at: https://www.theaurorazone.com/about-the-aurora/aurora-legends.

    You might also like