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The Spike of Fascinating & Unexpected
SPIKE 69
→ AURORA BOREALIS.
© 1. AstroAnthony — The aurora or northern lights shot with a Canon camera over the Víkurkirkja church at Vik in Iceland on a clear night / 2. Terrill Bodner — Dancing Over the Nechako River / 3. unknown / 4. ESA — Antarctic aurora / 5. Polar Pod/Jean-Louis Etienne/Francis Latreille — Photo prise lors de l'expédition Spitzberg - Hivernage avec Antarctica /6. Varjisakka — Northern Lights with very rare blue light emitted by nitrogen / 7. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren — Aurora / 8. Airman Joshua Strang — The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, shines above Bear Lake / 9. Brocken Inaglory / 10. unknown — Carrington Event.
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Interestingly, the aurora borealis tends to peak in activity every 11 years, coinciding with the solar cycle, during which the Sun’s magnetic field reverses its polarity. This cycle of solar activity influences the frequency and intensity of auroral displays, making them more or less prominent depending on the phase of the solar cycle. When these solar particles collide with gases like oxygen and nitrogen in the Earth’s atmosphere, they become excited and emit light. Oxygen atoms typically produce green and red auroras, while nitrogen atoms produce blue and purple auroras. However, during particularly intense solar activity, such as solar storms, the auroras can display a wider range of colours, including pink, yellow, and orange.
Aurora borealis displays are most commonly observed during the winter months when the nights are the longest and the skies are the darkest. They are particularly visible in regions such as Scandinavia, Alaska, Canada, and Russia. However, while they are typically associated with high-latitude regions near the Arctic and Antarctic circles, auroras can sometimes be visible at lower latitudes during periods of heightened solar activity. This phenomenon is known as a “geomagnetic storm” or “auroral storm,” and it occurs when a large burst of solar energy, such as a coronal mass ejection (CME), interacts with the Earth’s magnetosphere. During these events, the auroras can extend much farther from the polar regions, sometimes reaching as far south as the mid-latitudes. The Carrington Event was the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history, peaking on 1–2 September 1859 during solar cycle 10. It created strong auroral displays that were reported globally and caused sparking and even fires in telegraph stations.
While the northern lights are primarily a visual phenomenon, some observers have reported hearing a faint crackling or hissing noise during particularly intense displays, known as “auroral hiss” or “auroral chorus”. This sound is thought to be caused by the interaction of charged particles from the Sun with Earth’s magnetic field. As these particles collide with gases in the atmosphere, they produce electromagnetic waves at frequencies that can be detected by radio receivers. While the auroral hiss is typically too faint for human ears to perceive directly, specialised equipment can pick up these radio emissions, providing another dimension to the aurora viewing experience.
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→ Sourced from: SYSTEM 04 (Poutchka Patrol)
→ Stored online: N400 Spikes Repository
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→ Search log: Google images / Solar Influences Data Analysis Center
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