| |
HP2BWJ > NEWS 25.11.17 02:45l 41 Lines 1908 Bytes #999 (0) @ CEAM
BID : 3388-HP2BWJ
Read: GUEST
Subj: What is the Aurora?
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<HP2BWJ
Sent: 171125/0027Z @:HP2BWJ.COL.PAN.CEAM #:3388 [Colon,Panama] FBB7.00e
From: HP2BWJ@HP2BWJ.COL.PAN.CEAM
To : NEWS@CEAM
The aurora is a bright glow observed in the night sky, usually in
the polar zone. For this reason some scientists call it a
"polar aurora" (or "aurora polaris"). In northern latitudes it is
known as the aurora borealis, which is named after the Roman
goddess of the dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for north wind,
Boreas, since in Europe especially it often appears as a reddish
glow on the northern horizon as if the sun were rising from an
unusual direction. The aurora borealis is also called the
northern lights since it is only visible in the North sky from
the Northern Hemisphere. The aurora borealis most often
occurs from September to October and from March to April.
Its southern counterpart, aurora australis, has similar properties.
Auroras are now known to be caused by the collision of charged
particles (e.g. electrons), found in the Sun's Solar wind, with
atoms in the Earth's upper atmosphere (at altitudes above 80 km).
These charged particles are typically energized to levels between
1 thousand and 15 thousand electronvolts and, as they collide
with atoms of gases in the atmosphere, the atoms become energized.
Shortly afterwards, the atoms emit their gained energy as light.
How to view the Aurora
Viewing the aurora can be tricky and requires much help from our
sun and also requires you to be in the right location at the
right time with the least amount of light polution as possible.
If a geomagnetic storm is in progress and you are located at
higher latitudes, then viewing the aurora is very possible.
To learn more about this and how to capture an aurora image,
please visit this link.
Visit SolarHam.com for the most up to date space weather news
and information on the internet.
The latest submitted aurora imagery is also posted on SolarHam
Facebook. Don't forget to click the "Like" button.
Read previous mail | Read next mail
| |
