Is Aurora Borealis, a Myth or a Natural Meteorological Phenomenon - Term Paper Example

Is Aurora Borealis, a Myth or a Natural Meteorological Phenomenon? Abstract Any spectator can get ecstatic like having intense emotions and excitement while viewing the spectacular moving and shimmering lights of Aurora Borealis, also known as “Northern Lights”. It is one of the marvelous sights in the evening skies of the earth’s northern hemisphere. Is this a myth or a natural meteorological phenomenon? Learn more about Aurora Borealis from this paper as it attempts to present facts and issues about this phenomenon. What exactly is this phenomenon? What causes it to occur? Have scientists through the years found the answers to explain this amazing occurrence? If this was a myth, what sort of stories was told about it? These are just some of the questions that this paper aims to answer. Introduction “A French scientist named Pierre Gassendi was claimed to have named the northern lights after the Roman goddess of dawn, “Aurora” in 1621. The word “borealis” was added to represent the Greek god of the north wind, “Boreas” ” (Effron L., 2011.). Others, however, claimed that it was the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) who actually first gave the term ‘Aurora Borealis’, a Latin derived word” (“Facts and Info”, n.d.). Places where aurora borealis can be viewed have become tourist attractions in that part of the world_ the northern latitudes which particularly they call the polar zones. Some scientists call them as “polar auroras” (or aurorae polaris)” (Polar zone, n.d.). All types of aficionados all over the world and from all walks of life come and gather to this part of the world to enjoy looking and appreciating a “no man-made” awesome sights in the sky. Aurora borealis generally appears as luminous arches or streams of light in the Northern regions of the earth showing different movements of lights in variety of shapes projected in several elegant colors in the sky (“Facts and Info”, n.d.). Most importantly, the visual effects that the northern lights give as it overcasts the horizon and serves as a fantastic backdrop are what these people are after. On the other hand, scientists have tried to explore the mystery and find explanations or facts about its nature, composition, occurrence and everything to it. Here are some facts gathered about the officially known aurora borealis or northern lights in the earth’s northern hemisphere. Is Aurora Borealis, A Myth? When there were still no valid explanations for these amazing colorful sightings in the sky, people invented several stories translated into legends, folklores and myths. As myths, many have thought of these colorful lights in the sky as something alien in origin (“Alaska Public Land”, n.d.). It is important to note that “different cultures and communities had different stories to tell about the aurora borealis. For one, it was thought to be spirits of the dead dancing in heaven while others believed that those people who whistled at the lights were taken away by them. The lights were also thought to be trails of various gods and goddesses traveling in the sky. The dominance of red colors it radiated in the sky was also perceived to be signs of bloodshed, wars, and catastrophic events. Some have accepted them as signs given by Immortal Gods and Goddesses in strange worlds trying to communicate with mortals” (“Facts and Info”, n.d.). But eventually through the years of man’s milestone achievements on scientific technology-advancement, persistent scientists were able to find scientific answers to what causes and makes up these northern lights. The Scientific Explanation The Corpuscular Theory of the Aurora Borealis by Goldstein in 1881 was one of the earliest theories attempting to explain the occurrence of the northern lights (Spencer, 1918). Further studies in support of the aurora borealis were initiated by, Paulsen, a Danish meteorologist (1891), Birkeland (1896), Dr. A. Angot (1897), Arrhenius (1900), Carl Stormer and Bossekop covering the years 1910-1913 (Spencer, 1918). Their theories commonly studied the aurorae regions and the interrelated processes of the sun’s activities with electrified particles colliding with the magnetic fields of the earth. In 2000, Dr. David W. Allan added a New Model for his New Unified Field Theory Using Gravity to strengthen earlier postulates (Allan, 2000). What is the scientific explanation behind this spectacular phenomenon? It was described that aurora borealis is formed from millions of explosions of magnetic energy. (Nag, S., 2011). In detail, it was described to work similarly with the principle of how electricity works (“Northern Lights-Aurora Borealis”, n.d.). “Millions and millions of electrically charged particles (photons and electrons) within the solar wind (a stream of high-speed ionized particles ejected primarily from the sun’s corona) get trapped in the earth’s magnetic field. These ionized particles circle around the magnetic pole while some particles escape into the earth’s atmosphere. As they begin to hit the molecules in the atmosphere, they create impact causing the glow and thus, create the aurora” (“Northern Lights-Aurora Borealis”, n.d.). The resulting aurora's color depends on which gas the particles collide with (“Alaska Public Land”, n.d.). Colors of the aurora borealis consist of red, blue, violet and green (“Facts and Info”, n.d.). Blue aurora results from a collision with molecular nitrogen, the green results from a collision with molecular oxygen, and red comes from a collision with atomic oxygen, which only exists very high in the earth’s atmosphere.”(Alaska Public Land”, n.d.) Additional recorded accounts of Dr. A. Angot are presented below as this essentially form a better understanding of the northern lights: “…to appear as faint lights without defined shape; if more distinct, they are seen to have the form of rays converging upon some point in sky, or of more or less clearly defined arcs, or of bands which fold over on themselves like a curtain, and are called draped auroras . …While many auroras of small extent appear only on local phenomena in high latitude, others are visible to within 20 degrees of the equator. It seems to be usual for an aurora australis to occur simultaneously with an aurora borealis, notably on Feb. 04, 1872. …Edlund, also a contemporary of Dr. Angot, started to explain his theory as the phenomena of unipolar induction which is the production of currents in a metallic sheath surrounding a magnet when the sheath is rapidly revolved. The general phenomena of terrestrial magnetism justify regarding the earth as such a sheath. Electricity according to this theory, is constantly being carried by molecules of air from the equator to the poles, where it accumulates and from time to time returns to the ground by slow discharges which produce the auroras” (Angot, 1897). Additional Information Where can anyone get a clear view the aurora borealis or the northern lights? Aurora borealis or northern lights are clearly seen in the northern hemisphere particularly occurring high above the surface of the earth where the atmosphere has become extremely thin, in an altitude of 100-250km. (“Northern Light-Aurora Borealis”, n.d.) “Northern lights have been seen as far south as New Orleans in the western hemisphere, while similar locations in the east never experience the mysterious lights. However the best places to watch the lights (in North America) 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. Southern auroras are not often seen as they are concentrated in a ring around Antarctica and the southern Indian Ocean. Areas that are not subject to 'light pollution' are the best places to watch for the lights” (Northern Lights, n.d.). Whitehorse, Yellowknife, and Flin Flon are the best communities to get the best view of the northern lights (“Aurora Borealis”, 2006). “In the southern hemisphere, they are called ‘aurora australis’ meaning "southern". The lights are usually seen after dusk near both poles” (Effron L., 2011). Scientific findings also show that other planets like Saturn and Jupiter are also spotted with aurora borealis phenomena (Effron, L., 2011). There are few more things need to learn about Aurora Borealis. It does not affect Airplanes as they fly at altitudes well below it and does not get affected by the changes in the temperature of the Earth (“Facts and Info”, n.d.). Finally, the best time to see the northern lights is from September through April, 11 pm - 2 am and on dark winter nights (Mapes T., 2011). Conclusion Based on well-grounded facts, this paper was able to establish that ‘aurora borealis’ is a natural meteorological phenomenon. It would be highly recommended that each one should get the opportunity or chance to see the aurora borealis. From this end, everyone should enjoy and appreciate viewing the awesome picturesque aurora borealis phenomenon now knowing that things are natural behind the movement of the dazzling display of elegant lights, the ultimate beauty of aurora borealis as it blends with the horizon. References Angot, Dr. Alfred. (Aug. 1897) The Aurora Borealis, Popular Science. vol.51. no.33. 561-563. Retrieved 09 March 2011 from online http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=3CIDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA560&lpg=PA560&dq=Dr.+Angot+-+theory+on+aurora+borealis&source=bl&ots=TgtHURhCbL&sig=RAmHpmR1dexZ-ak4lT83dTkLFbc&hl=en&ei=jMnHTY-9Jo7qvQPAgZmUAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Dr.%20Angot%20-%20theory%20on%20aurora%20borealis&f=false Alaska Public Lands Information Centers (n.d.) Aurora Borealis. Retrieved May 07, 2011 from http://www.alaskacenters.gov/aurora.cfm Allan, David W. (2000). Unified Field Theory with New Model for Gravity. Retrieved online 09 May 2011 from http://www.allanstime.com/UnifiedFieldTheory/Overview/Sept00_CGSIC.htm Effron, Lauren. (2011) What is the Aurora Borealis? Discovery News Magazine. n.d. Retrieved from http://news.discovery.com/space/aurora-northern-lights-space-phenomena.html Facts and Information About Aurora Borealis-The Northern Lights. (n.d.) Facts-About Org.UK. Retrieved from http://www.facts-about.org.uk/science-aurora-borealis.htm Northern Lights – Aurora Borealis.(n.d.) Iceland On The Web. Retrieved online from http://iceland.vefur.is/iceland_nature/northern_lights/ Mapes, Terri.(2011) The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). Retrieved online from http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/knowledgesafety/p/auroraborealis.htm Nag, Subhajit (20 April 2011) What is Aurora Borealis? Retrieved online from http://ebodhitree.com/what-is-aurora-borealis.html Northern Lights (n.d.)Retrieved online from http://www.northernlightscentre.ca/ Polar Aurora ( aurora Polaris). (n.d.) Retrieved on line from http://www.solarham.com/help.htm Spencer Jones, H. (1918).The Corpuscular Theory of the Aurora Borealis. The Observatory . 41: 92-93. [Data File] Retrieved from 1918 January 16 -Meeting of the Royal Meteorological Society; SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS). Retrieved Online on May 07, 2011 from http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1918Obs....41...92S/0000092.000.html Aurora Borealis. (2006). The Great Canadian Adventure Company. Retrieved on May 08, 2011 from http://www.adventures.ca/gasnet/abv.htm Read More