Northern lights - what is it, photos, how and where it happens

The Northern Lights are one of the amazing phenomena of our planet, which can usually be seen in northern latitudes. But sometimes it can be seen even in London (where the famous Tower Bridge is located) or in Florida. Moreover, the lights are visible even in the very south of the Earth - in Antarctica. This phenomenon also occurs on other planets of the solar system: Mars, Jupiter, Venus.

In Russia, the northern lights can be seen on the Kola Peninsula, in the village of Teriberka in Vorkuta, Khatanga or Yakutia.

Aurora (northern lights) is the glow (luminescence) of the upper layers of the atmospheres of planets with a magnetosphere due to their interaction with charged particles of the solar wind.

The Northern Lights are thousands of colorful lights that light up in the sky on dark nights. Lights come in a variety of shapes and colors: blue, yellow, red, green. In a second, the dark sky turns into bright colors and becomes visible around for many kilometers as if during the day. The northern lights or polar lights have been surprising and enchanting people for thousands of years, but not everyone treats them with admiration; in the legends of some peoples, which we will discuss below, they were considered a bad sign.

Northern Lights: what is it and how does it happen?

Let's figure out what these northern lights are that surprise and frighten people living near the north and south poles? Mikhail Lomonosov guessed the riddle of the mysterious lights, deciding that electricity plays a role here. To confirm his theory, the scientist passed a current through flasks filled with various gases. After the experiment, the flasks shone with unique colors.

Simply put, charged particles emitted by our Sun (solar wind) cause the Earth's air to shimmer with multi-colored lights.

The earth is a magnet for particles, which forms magnetic fields due to currents generated during the rotation of the core, which is based on iron. With the help of magnetic attraction, our planet “catches” the passing solar wind and directs it to where the magnetic poles are located. There, solar particles are instantly attracted to them, and from the collision of the solar wind with the atmosphere, energy appears, converted into light, which forms the northern lights.

The excited atoms calm down and begin to emit a light photophone;
If nitrogen (N) collides with solar particles and loses electrons, its molecules turn blue and violet;
If the electron does not disappear anywhere, then red rays appear;
When the solar wind interacts with oxygen (O), the electron does not disappear, but begins to release rays of green and red colors.

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Photo: Alla Fedina
The first person to note this phenomenon from a medical point of view was the British doctor Watson. He participated in several polar expeditions at the very beginning of the twentieth century. The scientist described people falling into a strange state, who began to make rhythmic, consistent movements and moved towards the north. Any attempts to restrain them led to active resistance. Watson called this condition expeditionary or polar rabies.

Earlier, the famous polar explorer Amundsen encountered this strange phenomenon. He was the navigator of the Belzhik ship, which was wintering off the coast of Antarctica. Several members of the expedition “heard” the call of the North Star. One of them even escaped from the ship into the snowy expanses, and the other tried to kill Amundsen with an ax.

Doctors who took part in polar expeditions discovered a pattern: almost all cases of polar rabies coincided with the activity of the aurora. The most terrible ones coincided with flashes of red color. The number of such attacks of expeditionary rabies increased significantly in years with recorded peaks of solar activity, when the brightest auroras occurred.

Northern Lights: Legends

Since ancient times, the northern lights have been associated with various mysterious and sometimes even mystical events. Some peoples believed that heavenly fire brought happiness; supposedly the gods had holidays at this time. Others believed that the god of fire was very angry and trouble should be expected. Let's listen to what legends of different nations say about the northern lights.

The Norwegians mention a shimmering bridge that sometimes appears in the sky to bring the gods down to earth. Some called the radiance the fires in the hands of the Valkyries, whose armor is polished to a shine and an amazing radiance arises from them. Others said that the lights are the dance of the souls of dead girls.

In the stories of the ancient Finns, the aurora means the Ruža River, burning with fire, which separates the world of the dead and the world of the living. North American Eskimos believe that you can make the sky sparkle with colorful lights by whistling, and by clapping your hands you can immediately extinguish them.

Alaskan Eskimos say the northern lights bring bad luck. Before going outside, in the old days they took weapons for protection. Many believed that if you watch the lights for a long time, you can go crazy.

There is every reason to believe that it was thanks to the radiance that myths about dragons arose. Many scientists believe that the battle of St. George, who is the patron of all Englishmen, is connected not with a terrible serpent, but with the aurora!

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Photo: Alexander Stepanenko

How to Photograph the Northern Lights
You need a tripod to securely hold the camera while taking pictures.
Please be patient as the northern lights do not light up on schedule. Dress warmly and take a thermos with a warm drink.
While waiting for the aurora, it is better to keep your camera in a case or under your clothes.
Shooting must be done with the focus set to infinity (landscape mode).
And - the most important thing - you need to set the shutter speed to at least 15 seconds. Otherwise, the pictures will turn out dark, and the shine will be invisible.

By the way, now the Russian Geographical Society continues to accept photographs for the V photo competition “The Most Beautiful Country”. Perhaps the winner will be a photo of the aurora. Details here.

What do sirens have to do with it?

Northern people noticed: the aurora takes away the mind. Russian Pomors even introduced the concept of “measuring”. It refers to an unusual mental illness that occurs in several people at the same time. The Eskimos call this the “call of the North Star.”

When can you see the Northern Lights

Those who want to know for sure when you can see the northern lights should read this paragraph carefully. It can be seen on a clear, frosty night, with a partial moon, preferably far from the city (so that the light of lanterns does not interfere). The aurora appears mainly from October to January and occurs at an altitude of 80 to 1000 kilometers above sea level and lasts from 1 hour to a whole day.

The more aggressive the Sun behaves, the more explosions occur on it, the longer the aurora lasts. The most beautiful flashes can be seen once every 11 years (this is the cyclicity of the Sun). The Northern Lights, which are always spectacular to photograph, are somewhat reminiscent of a sunset (only at night), but can also appear in the form of spirals or arcs. The width of the colored ribbon may well exceed 160 km, length - 1500 km.

The color of the aurora itself depends largely on what gas the solar wind interacts with, but also on the altitude where this happened. If atmospheric gases collide at an altitude of more than 150 km, the color of the aurora will be red, from 120 to 150 km – yellow-green, below 120 km – violet-blue. More often than not, the northern lights appear pale green.

Footage received from space confirmed the version that the aurora on the southern side of the globe almost mirrors this phenomenon on the northern side. It consists of rings with a diameter of 4000 km that surround the poles.

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Photo: Alexander Merkushev
“In the Murmansk region, official statistics on the number of tourists are very different from the real figures,” says Vladimir Onatsky. – Hotels for this season are booked six months to a year in advance. The real numbers are five times higher. Many come as savages and rent housing from local residents. They travel to popular places on their own.” It is also impossible to track through travel companies. The number of illegal guides has increased over the past two or three years. Even taxi drivers promise to show you the best northern lights. True, they do not guarantee results. Honest Arctic guides take their guests until they manage to catch the fiery fox by the tail.

According to Vladimir, he works mainly with Russians. Many of them come again - with their family, colleagues, friends. He believes it is extremely important when customers are satisfied and a pleasant impression is left about the region. And recently on the Kola Peninsula, the tourism business followed demand: they began to build glass igloos - both the sky is visible and it is warm.

Where can you see the Northern Lights?

It was possible to see the lights in the Middle Ages, when the north magnetic pole was further east, not only in Scandinavia or northern Russia, but even in northern China. Now you can see the northern lights near the magnetic poles of our planet:

at the north pole (it is clearly visible at the Ross Trench); in Antarctica;
in North America (from 20 to 200 times a year);
in the north of the Scandinavian countries, especially on the island of Spitsbergen. Here you can see it no less often than in North America;
in latitudes between London and Paris - 5-10 times a year;
in northern Florida, the northern lights occur four times a year; in Russia - in the north - on the Kola Peninsula or in Yakutia;
in Scotland, famous for its Edinburgh Castle (and in April);
from space (when there is no influence of the lower dense layers of the atmosphere, which significantly distort the spectacle).

You can see the northern lights on other planets of the solar system - on Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and possibly on Saturn. So far, all the secrets of the flickering lights have not yet been solved. Scientists are especially interested in the question of whether it is accompanied by a sound effect.

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Photo: Vladimir Alekseev
President of the Association of Guides of the Murmansk Region “Arctic Guides” Vladimir Onatsky takes tourists all season following the aurora. Tells: the most popular destinations are Teriberka, Sami, Lovozero, Khibiny, Husky and Murmansk. But the northern lights are very dependent on the weather. Thanks to the warm Gulf Stream, the Kola Peninsula is much warmer than, for example, Chukotka. But it also increases cloudiness. This means that you can’t always see the aurora and not everywhere. Sometimes you have to drive all night in search of color tints. “Tourists feed on rumors,” complains Vladimir. – Someone told someone that Teriberka has the brightest and longest lasting light. Everyone is going there. We arrived, got up, the sky was overcast. There is only one road from there, and all that remains is to stand and wait for the sky to clear. It is much better if you start your hunt for aurora from Murmansk. There are four roads leading from it. This means we look at the weather and already go to the most favorable area.”

A three-day “Behind the Radiance” tour to the Murmansk region costs from 30 thousand rubles. In addition to the Chinese, Thais, Filipinos, Indians, and Spaniards come. They are much more intelligent than the Chinese, they know English and do not skimp on travel.

Earth's magnetosphere

Scheme of the Earth's magnetosphere

The Earth's magnetosphere is formed under the influence of the solar wind and the Earth's magnetic field. It forms an obstacle to the solar wind, distracting it, at an average distance of about 70,000 km (11 Earth radii), and forms a bow shock at a distance of 12,000 km to 15,000 km (1.9 to 2.4 radii). The width of the Earth's magnetosphere is typically 190,000 km (30 radii), and on the night side a long magnetospheric plume of elongated field lines extends over enormous distances (> 200 Earth radii).

The plasma flux in the magnetosphere increases with increasing density and turbulence in the solar wind flow.

In addition to colliding perpendicularly with the Earth's magnetic field, some flows of magnetospheric plasma move up and down along the Earth's magnetic field lines and lose energy in the auroral zones of the atmosphere, which is what produces the northern lights. Magnetospheric electrons accelerate and collide with atmospheric gases causing atmospheric glow.

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Photo: Alexander Merkushev
The Brain Institute appeared in Petrograd in 1918. It was headed by Academician Bekhterev. The scientist showed interest in mental illnesses manifested in polar regions. Bekhterev organized a scientific expedition to the Kola Peninsula, but to no avail. In 1957, Soviet scientists returned to this research. After experiments, they found out: certain forms of auroras pulsate with a frequency that is close to the basic rhythms of the human brain, which causes a kind of malfunction in its work. And bright flashes of scarlet color coincide with a frequency close to the rhythms of the brain. They cause exacerbation of chronic diseases and seizures similar to epileptic ones. Other experimental subjects, under the influence of such outbreaks, developed headaches and malfunctions of the vestibular apparatus. People prone to mental illness are especially susceptible to this type of influence.

The frequency of their radiation is 8-13 hertz, which corresponds to the frequency of the beta and alpha rhythms of the human brain. A person observing the aurora feels an inexplicable need to become one with something majestic. The aurora is accompanied by active infrasound, which is not perceptible to the ear. Infrasound is unpredictable: it is unknown what changes occur in the human brain and cardiovascular system. Therefore, to witness the northern lights means exposing yourself to an unknown danger to the body.

Infrasound is the cause of many tragedies that occur at sea. Minor exposure to infrasound results in seasickness, moderate exposure causes disruption of brain function, sometimes to the point of loss of vision and hearing. It is believed that infrasound of 7 hertz is lethal to humans. Death occurs due to vibration of internal organs, which leads to cardiac arrest. Scientists believe that legends about sea sirens beckoning sailors are directly related to the aurora.