To see more of Dick Hutchinson's
aurora photography on this site, please click here.

Click here to see more of
Jan Curtis' work on this web site.

For more of John Russell's photos, please
visit this  page.    He has some
spectacular pictures of the solar
storms of March 2001.

Would you like to see the aurora live?

You may visit this live Aurora cam based in Norway.

Another beautiful Alaskan feature is Denali, the highest
mountain in North America. For live views of her, please visit
Talkeetna Air Taxi's Denali Cam.

noFor daily

What IS the aurora? Simply stated (I am not a scientist), it
is caused by the charged particles generated by the sun (the "solar wind")
striking atoms and molecules in the upper reaches of Earth's
atmosphere, and giving them an electrical charge which
causes them to glow.  The effect is similar to our use of neon lights.
For a much better explanation, please visit the links below!
Some of our ancestors believed that the "lights in the sky" were the
highways upon which the souls of the dead traveled to be with
the gods.  Others thought that the ribbons and streamers portended great
events, both evil and good.

Some of us simply find them beautiful.

I've shown you some of the pictures, and the science, about the northern lights.
Now, I would like to show you some of the poetry.
LeRoy Zimmerman does not only spectacular photography, he also
writes like an angel.  I invite you to visit this page created for him,
on this web site.  The pictures and words are his.  Many of them can
also be found on the Solar Terrestrial Dispatch page. His photographs are panoramas,
so that your eye sees on the computer screen what you would see if you were there in person.

LeRoy Zimmerman  

The International Space Station (ISS) crew have a unique view not only of earth, but also of the aurora:

Aurora from Space
Credit: Don Pettit, ISS Expedition 6, NASA
Explanation: From the ground, spectacular auroras seem to dance high above.
But the International Space Station (ISS) orbits at nearly the same height
as many auroras, sometimes passing over them, and sometimes right through
them. Still, the auroral electron and proton streams pose no direct danger
to the ISS. In 2003, ISS Science Officer Don Pettit captured the green aurora,
pictured above in a digitally sharpened image. From orbit, Pettit reported
that changing auroras appeared to crawl around like giant green amoebas. Over
300 kilometers below, the Manicouagan Impact Crater can be seen in northern
Canada, planet Earth.

From: NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day .

When the solar wind arrives and auroras flare up, a great place to be is Earth orbit. Here is the
view from the International Space Station (ISS), 200 miles high:

Crewmembers took the picture during a mild geomagnetic storm on Feb. 1st. [2008] At the time, the ISS was orbiting over
the Bay of St. Lawrence and the camera (a Nikon D2Xs) pointing north with a view of Quebec and New Foundland. Although the
auroras appear to be below the ISS, they are in fact at about the same altitude. Indeed, from time to time, the space station
flies right through the Northern Lights--an indescribable experience according to astronauts who have been there.
(Text and photo courtesy of SpaceWeather.com)

The aurora also occurs over the Southern Hemisphere,
where it is called the aurora australis.
Our Shuttle astronauts have taken pictures
of the Aurora, from high above the Earth's
atmosphere. Here is one such photo of the southern
aurora:

Notice how you can see the curvature of the Earth, as
the aurora erupts into space above. The Belt of Orion is
visible to the right of the large flare.
Photo courtesy of NASA

For photos from ground-based S. Hemisphere aurora fans,
please click here!
 
 

 

Earth is not the only planet with aurorae. Above is a photo of Jupiter's moon Io.
You can see a volcanic eruption to the left, spewing out into space,
and on ther right is an aurora caused by the intense radiation from Jupiter.
Photo was taken by New Horizons spacecraft on 28 February 2007.
Courtesy of NASA.

 

Interested in learning more about aurora?
Visit these enlightening links.

University  of Alaska

Viewing FAQ

University of Michigan

 

Space Weather.com  Daily updated information and links on the state of the sun, the aurora, meteors,  and other space phenomena. You may also sign up for free e-mail  notification of current space events.

Solar Terrestrial Dispatch Same as Space Weather, but with more detailed aurora viewing info, including imagery and data in near real time. Includes an area to report aurora sightings, and a notification service.

If you enjoyed this page, please visit our annoying parrots!

You may want also to visit our other pages:

Alaska! Aurora, beautiful vistas, and much more.....

Great Horned Owl Release

Raptors! Some of the hawks, eagles, and owls at the World Bird Sanctuary

Questions or comments:
E-mail Sue Evans

 

This web site was authored by Sue Evans. I want thank
the gentlemen whose photos are featured here
for their gracious permission to use them.
A special thanks goes to Jan Curtis, who
provided scientific critiquing of the
words on these pages.

You are enlightened mind

to visit these pages. Thank you!

Background music: "Stairway to Heaven",
Led Zeppelin

This page last updated 2 February 2010.

Copyright 2001-2010.

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