The Northern Lights Explained By Vikki Beale At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Ever wondered how to turn on the Northern Lights? This article aims to help you understand the processes that you will be witnessing on a Northern Lights tour, demystifying the science without spoiling the magic.

It can sometimes be said that “the atmosphere is electric,” and on Northern Lights tours this is especially true. The swirls of colour that appear in the night sky when the aurora borealis is in action are the result of electrical charges reacting with gases in the upper atmosphere. The currents of electricity involved are tens of thousands of times more powerful than the electricity you get from your mains sockets in your house. Thankfully, it all happens between 20 and 200 miles above your head.

The Colour of the Northern Lights

The colour of the aurora borealis depends upon how high up in the atmosphere the reactions take place. You can expect to see green shapes in the sky on Northern Lights tours, but other colours occur, too. If the event occurs lower down, such as a mere 60 miles up or less, and nitrogen is involved, then the aurora can appear blue. A nitrogen reaction higher up can result in a purple or violet light show. The more common green light shows involve oxygen up to a height of about 150 miles; if the reaction is even higher, then the lights may even appear red.

There is nothing unusual about oxygen and nitrogen: together they constitute the majority of the earth’s atmosphere, the same air you will be breathing while watching the sky during Northern Lights tours. But when charged particles collide with the earth’s upper atmosphere, these ordinary gases behave like a neon light. So where do these magically charged particles come from?

Solar Winds

The particles that are responsible for this dramatic light show originate in the sun. It’s an understatement to say that the sun generates a large amount of energy, and in the gigantic nuclear reactions that occur in the sun, fragments of atoms are spat out at millions of miles per hour. This flow of particles that travels from the sun out into the solar system is called a solar wind. When these winds hit the earth’s atmosphere where it is thinnest – around the North and South Poles – fireworks happen.

Because the size of the sun’s solar winds are not constant, neither are the auroras. Sunspots occur when the sun makes a sudden increase in its energy output, sending a flare out from its corona. Sunspots cause a peak in solar wind activity about every eleven years. Because of this, people taking Northern Lights tours during the years 2011 and 2012 can expect to see an even more spectacular show than usual.

If these winds, the gases and the electricity have confused you, I’m sure this will be explained to you again when you take your Northern Lights tour in Iceland. Whatever your understanding of the event, seeing the Northern Lights is certain to be a magical and memorable experience.

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