Entrancing, dazzling, awe-inspiring, magical and phenomenal, these are but few of the words that come to our minds when we think about the Aurora Borealis. The Aurora Borealis, or better known as the Northern Lights are natural phenomena, which cause an unbelievable and ethereal display of magnificent colors that light up the northern hemisphere near Norway and Iceland. They are truly a sight to behold and not many get the chance to experience this wondrous phenomenon.
The Inuit’s believe that the Northern Lights are the spirits of their ancestors dancing around in the spirit realm. According to the Norse Mythology, the god built a fire bridge and it is this bridge which later came to be known as the Aurora Borealis. Keeping this folklore aside, ever wondered what truly causes these lights to appear?
Our sun, the big ball of fire that lights up our skies is 93 million miles away. Now that may seem like it’s pretty far away, but the effects that the sun has on our Earth is beyond our imagination. Great storms frequently occur on the surface of the sun, and these storms send an array of charged solar particles scrambling across space. Now, these particles and our earth may collide with one another, and in such situations, the earth’s atmosphere and its magnetic field react with one another. Now the charged particles from the sun may collide with our atmospheric particles, which excites them and causes them to light up.
The colors in the aurora have been a mystery throughout the history of mankind. But science has come up with a plausible explanation. According to scientists, various gases give out various colors. Oxygen gives out green while nitrogen may give out the blue or the red color.
The aurora borealis has always fascinated mankind and thousands of people from all around the world travel thousands of miles just to have a glimpse at this majestic phenomenon. Norway and Iceland remain as two of the most favorable places to experience the Aurora Borealis. The dazzling lights of the aurora borealis have managed to fire up the imagination of mankind in ways that only a few other things have. It lights up a passion within us and this is one such passion which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
If you have a knack for adventure and a passion for traveling, I suggest that you put the Aurora Borealis on the top of your bucket list, for this dazzling display of lights is sure to leave you spellbound.
