Northern lights how does it work

Usually the best time of night on clear nights to watch for auroral displays is local midnight adjust for differences caused by daylight savings time. In Roman myths, Aurora was the goddess of the dawn. In medieval times, the occurrences of auroral displays were seen as harbingers of war or famine.

The Maori of New Zealand shared a belief with many northern people of Europe and North America that the lights were reflections from torches or campfires. The Menominee Indians of Wisconsin believed that the lights indicated the location of manabai'wok giants who were the spirits of great hunters and fishermen. The Inuit of Alaska believed that the lights were the spirits of the animals they hunted: the seals, salmon, deer and beluga whales. Other aboriginal peoples believed that the lights were the spirits of their people.

Northern Lights What are Northern Lights? What causes the Northern Lights? Where is the best place to watch the Northern Lights? When is the best time to watch for auroral displays? This solar wind drifts away from the Sun through space, carrying tiny particles called protons and electrons. Protons and electrons are some of the tiny building blocks that make up most of the stuff in the universe, like plants and chocolate and me and you. Think of the smallest Lego bricks you have in your toy box, which can be stuck together to make bigger things - these are what protons and electrons and neutrons too are to the universe.

These particles carry lots of energy from the Sun, on their journey through space. We can only see the northern lights at times when the solar wind is strong enough. The magnetic field forces the solar wind away, and makes it travel around the Earth instead. The magnetic field interacts with the solar wind and guides the protons and electrons down towards Earth along the magnetic field, away from the middle of the planet and toward the north and south poles.

Because of this, we get both northern and southern lights — also known as the aurora borealis and the aurora australis.

When the solar wind gets past the magnetic field and travels towards the Earth, it runs into the atmosphere. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Activities Abroad is the UK's leading family activity holiday company. From Father Christmas, the Northern Lights and dog sledding in winter to white water rafting, canyoning and kayaking in summer we offer a compelling range of holidays to suit active families.

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