From tech to household and wellness products. Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.Early Roman mythology identified the Aurora as the glow from strange other-worldly caves in the sky. In older Norse cultures, the lights were thought to be the trails of various gods and goddesses traveling in the sky. Native cultures tell tales of people who whistled at the lights and were taken away by them. Many different people believed that the Northern Lights were the spirits of the dead dancing in the heavens. In other words, these electronics can run off of AURORA POWER.Ī famous instance of this occurred on September 2, 1859, when two telegraph operators (one in Boston, the other in Portland, Maine) had a conversation for approximately two hours without the use of any power source other than that of the Auroral activity.Ĭultures around the world speculate the origins of the Northern Lights. Many transmitting devices can function off of Auroral currents alone, such as radios and phones. On the other hand, Auroral activity can actually help electronic gear depending on where you're located. For instance, during particularly intense Auroral activity, certain parts of the world might experience electronic equipment malfunctions, and can suffer massive power outages. Though there is an understanding of their origins, there is still very much that we don't understand about the Northern Lights. These charged particles are shed by the sun during sun spot activity, which means Aurora frequencies are vastly increased whenever there is high sunspot activity. Blue aurora results from a collision with molecular nitrogen, Green with molecular oxygen, and Red comes from a collision with atomic oxygen, which only exists very high in our atmosphere. The resulting aurora's color depends on which gas the particles collide with. What one is seeing while watching the beautiful green, red, or blue lights is charged particles (typically electrons, but occasionally protons as well) colliding with the gases in our atmosphere.

The Northern Lights certainly can seem a bit alien at times, and many stories assign them some sort of mystical origin. Time lapse of the aurora in Fairbanks by Josh Spice, Park Ranger at the Fairbanks Alaska Centers, in September, 2011. The Northern Lights are truly a mystifying spectacle, dazzling both visitor and resident alike with their bright colors, wispy movements, and the sheer brilliance and presence they have in the skies. With the extended daylight in the summer months, the Northern Lights are best viewed in the darker months of winter. The Northern Lights and Aurora Borealis are names for a phenomenon that technically occurs all around the world, but specifically refers to visible lights usually seen only in the northernmost parts of the world.

Aurora lights