Behold the Aurora Borealis, Earth’s Mightiest Creation!

Behold the Aurora Borealis, Earth’s Mightiest Creation!

This is one magnificent sight no dictionary has succeeded in creating a word for - the Aurora Borealis. Happens on a seasonal basis, Aurora Borealise is an out of the world sight that has seen travellers through great distance in the hope of just catching a glimpse of it.

A flip through my vocabulary bank and I realise that there’s no word that could aptly possibly describe this beautiful natural phenomenon – it is so beautiful you’ve got to witness it for yourself.

I am talking about the Northern Light – Aurora Borealis (Or Aurora Australis for the Southern Light).

The pulsating colours of grass green, pale scarlet and ocean blue rays of light painted the sky on the deadly night on a seasonal manner, with its sightings mostly spotted from September to March.

Scandinavia, Canada, Alaska, Russia and Scotland are some of the places where travellers journey across globe in the hope to witness this confounding humdinger.

Aurora borealis

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The science behind Aurora Borealis

To summarise, Aurora is formed when the sun releases charged particles (known as protons and electrons) into space. When the particles come close to the Earth, the protective magnetic layer around the Earth will ward off these particles. However, this magnetic layer is weakest at the top most and bottom most of the earth, so some particles are still able to enter the earth. The particles’ interaction with air’s particles (oxygen, nitrogen) is what forms the moving lights, which is the Aurora.

Image credits: aurorahunter

The colour of the Aurora – green, red, blue and purple (violet) is dependable on the kind of particle that is struck and the height of which it was struck.

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In late February this year, the Aurora Borealis made headlines around the United Kingdom (UK) when it made its first visit of the year in Southern UK. Here are some of the magnificent photos that were taken during its brief one-day visit.

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Image credits: Guy Edwardes/Rex

Image credits: Mark Hamblin

Image credits: Owen Humphreys/PA

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Angela

Angela is a History enthusiast who indulges in exploring the whirlwind of events happened during the two World Wars. The one place she wouldn’t miss in her travel itinerary is to visit the Historical monuments. Her favourite movie, Schindler’s List, fuelled her desire to one day visit Schindler’s enamelware factory that eventually rescued over a thousand Jews.

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