Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional festivals - Complete collection of detailed information about the Northern Lights (natural phenomena)

Northern Lights is a colorful luminous phenomenon, which appears over the high magnetic latitude area of

Complete collection of detailed information about the Northern Lights (natural phenomena)

Northern Lights is a colorful luminous phenomenon, which appears over the high magnetic latitude area of

Complete collection of detailed information about the Northern Lights (natural phenomena)

Northern Lights is a colorful luminous phenomenon, which appears over the high magnetic latitude area of the planet's North Pole, and is produced by exciting (or ionizing) molecules or atoms in the upper atmosphere by the high-energy charged particle flow (solar wind) of the earth's magnetosphere or the sun. Alaska near the North Pole, northern Canada and Mohe City in Daxinganling area of Heilongjiang Province, China are the best places to watch the Northern Lights.

Basic introduction Chinese name: mbth of the Northern Lights: attributes of the Northern Lights: etymology of natural phenomena: Latin Ios Best places to watch: formation process of Alaska, human exploration, essential principle, morphological characteristics, location of appearance, shooting of aurora, mystery of sound, legend, birth of Xuanyuan family of Huangdi, classics of mountains and seas, Latin, research progress, and aurora from Latin Ios. Legend has it that Ios is the incarnation of "Dawn" in Greek mythology, the daughter of the Greek god Titan and the sister of the sun god and the moon goddess. When humans first looked up at the sky and saw the Northern Lights, the Northern Lights were always a "mystery". For a long time, people have their own legends of aurora. For example, in Finnish, the northern lights are called "revontulet", which literally means fox's fire. Ancient Finns believed that when a fox ran on a snowy hillside, its tail would roll up glittering snowflakes and stretch all the way to the sky, thus forming the Northern Lights. In addition, some Sami and Siberian believe that the Northern Lights come from the trauma of the dead, but this colorful sky is not a sign of pain. On the contrary, it is the blood left by ghosts who were injured while playing ball or riding horses in later generations. Inuit believe that "Aurora is the torch of ghosts and gods, guiding the souls of the dead to heaven". The aborigines, on the other hand, regard "aurora as the appearance of gods, and think that the fast-moving aurora will make the gods trample on the empty voice, take away people's souls and leave bad luck". Aurora in the Arctic upper atmosphere.

According to the principle, the Northern Lights can be seen in the Arctic Circle on sunny nights all year round, but they often appear in the winter night sky. Although the cause of this natural wonder is still inconclusive, it has attracted countless people to look up at the sky for thousands of years. The northern lights are vast and mysterious, which makes people sigh that life is small and the universe is infinite. If you want to see the Northern Lights clearly, you should avoid the interference of city lights. Camping in Lapland, you can enjoy the Northern Lights while drinking tea around a warm campfire. Because it takes a long time to wait in the wild, enough cold-proof clothes are essential. The probability of seeing the Northern Lights in northern Lapland is very high, about 75%. For a long time, there have been different views on the causes of aurora. Some people think that it is a fire burning at the outer edge of the earth; Some people think it is light reflected from the sky after sunset; Others believe that it is an energy released by polar ice and snow at night after absorbing and storing sunlight during the day. It was not until man sent a satellite rocket into space that the mystery of this celestial phenomenon was explained physically. Aurora is essentially an optical phenomenon excited by charged particles from solar storms and atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere of the earth (above the ground 100-200 km). There are three important processes in the formation of aurora: charged particles generated by the solar wind, charged particles attracted by the earth's magnetic field to the north and south poles, and excited by the operation of atmospheric components. The so-called "solar wind" is an energy that the sun constantly radiates to the universe. It consists of electrons and protons. Due to the intense activity of the sun, countless charged particles are emitted. When charged particles flow to the earth and enter the range of the earth's magnetic field, they will enter the upper atmosphere near the north and south magnetic poles at high speed along the earth's magnetic field lines, and collide with particles such as oxygen atoms and nitrogen molecules, resulting in "electromagnetic storms" and "visible light" phenomena, which become a striking "aurora". For a long time, people have been trying to understand and explore the mystery of aurora. In the last century, people used cameras, video cameras and satellites to clearly see and understand the discharge phenomenon caused by the collision between solar energy and the earth's magnetic field. It is a river of electron light, releasing one million megawatts of light in the sky 60 miles away from the earth. But in an unscientific era, people can only use their infinite imagination to describe this wonderful natural scenery, so there are many mysterious legends handed down from ancient times. The origin of the name of the Northern Lights is that the scientist Cassidy called this phenomenon "Aurora" after repeated consideration. She is the goddess of weaving in ancient Roman mythology, representing the dawn before sunrise. Berkeley, an Northern Lights scientist over Alaska, believes that electrons emitted by the sun fly freely in space. When they break into the earth's magnetic field, electrons collide with gas and emit light. This is the Northern Lights. His theory was not proved until 60 years later. Scientists first proved that the earth has two magnetic fields after the launch of American rocket 14. A year later, Harbor 2 first measured the plasma of the sun (the charged substance that constitutes the solar airflow), and the solar airflow can touch the earth. Solar airflow is also called solar wind. These radiations rushed to the earth at a speed of 3 million kilometers. Fortunately, the earth's magnetic field changed the direction of the solar wind and protected us from it. When the solar wind collides with the earth's magnetic field, it will generate 654.38+000 trillion yuan of energy, small particles in the earth's atmosphere will release energy, oxygen atoms will emit green or red light, oxygen molecules will emit red or yellow light, and nitrogen molecules will emit purple or pink light. If the aurora appears, is there any sound? Aboriginal people in Canada's Arctic Circle say that the Northern Lights will send out whistles and footsteps, which is the sound of souls crossing the snow in heaven. How much energy will be released when the solar wind hits the earth's magnetic field? Wait, these are all mysteries that scientists are eager to solve. Aurora, like itself, is like smoke and fog, which makes us sigh the wonder of nature's creator. Aurora is essentially an optical phenomenon excited by the operation of atoms and molecules in the uppermost layer of the earth's atmosphere (above the ground 100-200 km). It is formed by three elements: solar wind, earth's magnetic field and atmosphere. The so-called "solar wind" is an energy that the sun constantly radiates to the universe. It consists of electrons and protons. Due to the intense activity of the sun, countless charged particles are emitted. When charged particles flow to the earth and enter the range of the earth's magnetic field, they will enter the upper atmosphere near the north and south magnetic poles at high speed along the earth's magnetic field lines, and collide with particles such as oxygen atoms and nitrogen molecules, resulting in "electromagnetic storms" and "visible light" phenomena, which become a striking "aurora". The morphological characteristics of aurora borealis are a natural astronomical wonder. It has no fixed pattern and different colors. The colors are mostly green, white, yellow and blue, and occasionally they are gorgeous red and purple, graceful and mysterious. Aurora can only be seen in cold autumn and winter nights and high latitudes, because the Northern Lights are most likely to appear in dark and cold nights, so the best time is in the evening of February next year 1 1 to 10 to 2 am, and sometimes it lasts about 1 hour. Gorgeous Northern Lights over the Rocky Mountains Generally speaking, there are four types of aurora: arc aurora, ribbon aurora, curtain aurora and radial aurora. What appears in the north is called the Northern Lights, and what appears in the south is called the Southern Lights. Aurora most often appears in two circular belts near the north-south magnetic latitude of 67, which are called the Southern Aurora and the Northern Aurora respectively. The northern hemisphere is dominated by Alaska, northern Canada, Siberia, Greenland, the southern tip of Iceland and the northern coast of Norway; The southern hemisphere is concentrated near Antarctica. It is worth mentioning that Alaska and northern Canada near the North Pole are the best places to watch the aurora. Fairbanks, Alaska has won the reputation of "Northern Lights Capital", which is famous for its long-term illumination in cold winter and summer. There are more than 200 days of aurora in a year. People go there to enjoy its spectacular scenery and witness the aurora wonders that appear every night. If you have the chance to go to Alaska, you must go to see the charming Northern Lights, capture the ever-changing super "electro-optic show", and you will completely fall in love with the Northern Lights! Northern Lights can also be observed in Mohe County, Daxinganling, Heilongjiang Province, the northernmost part of China. The northern lights appeared over the fjord near Reykjavik, Iceland. Shooting the Northern Lights is a unique challenge. Because the northern lights are very popular in winter, the weather is very cold, and the temperature will be MINUS 40 or 50 degrees. The camera should not be left outside for more than a few minutes, because it will freeze. Film is not as sensitive as human eyes, and it uses special time interval technology. The Mystery of Sound Scientists have discovered the place where the mysterious northern lights sound came from. This kind of sound inspired many folk stories, which made the wilderness wanderers feel fear and awe, but the strange crackling sound and low roar of the Northern Lights were scientifically explained for the first time. Researchers at Aalto University in Finland located these sounds and found that they came from a height of about 70 meters above the ground. The northern lights caused by the interference of the earth's magnetic field appear at a height of about 120 km from the ground. The researchers installed three independent speakers at an observation site where these aurora sounds were recorded, and then found the sound source. They compared the sounds captured by these speakers and finally found the location where these sounds came from. Scientists from the Finnish Meteorological Institute saw the Northern Lights at this observation site and measured the geomagnetic interference. Professor Unito -K- Ryan of Aalto University said: "Our research confirms that when the Northern Lights appear, people can hear the natural aurora, which is related to what they see. Previously, researchers thought that the Northern Lights were too far away from us to hear its sound. It's true. But our research shows that these sounds related to the northern lights we see are probably produced by the same high-energy particles from the sun. These particles cause the Northern Lights to appear in the distant sky. These particles or their geomagnetic interference seem to produce sounds closer to the ground. " The recorded aurora sounds are similar to crackling and low roar, and the duration is very short. Others who heard the aurora described them as sounds and crackles coming from a distance. Considering these different descriptions, the researchers speculate that there are several mechanisms that lead to the formation of these aurora sounds. These sounds are very soft, so you have to listen very carefully to hear them and distinguish them from the environmental noise. It is said that the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan Huangdi was born on a day more than two thousand years BC, and night came. As the sun sets, the night spreads its black wings on the land of China, covering the distant mountains, nearby trees, rivers and mounds, and everything. A young woman named Fu Bao was sitting alone in the wilderness, with the same passion as autumn water flashing between her eyebrows. Obviously, she was deeply attracted by this quiet night. The night sky looks like an endless sea. Quiet and mysterious. In the sky, the stars are twinkling, quietly looking down at the dark ground. Suddenly, in the constellation Ursa major, a rainbow-like magical band of light floated by, like smoke, swaying, moving and moving, like flowing clouds, and finally turned into a huge halo, lingering around the Big Dipper. At this time, the brightness of the halo increased sharply, just like the bright moon hanging in the sky, pouring a touch of silver brilliance to the earth, illuminating the whole Yuanye. Everything in the air is clearly visible, and everything becomes alive. Attached treasure saw this scene and couldn't help but be moved. As a result, I got pregnant and gave birth to a son. This boy is the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan. The above may be one of the oldest myths and legends about aurora in the world. Aurora is also recorded in China's ancient book Shan Hai Jing. The book is about a fairy in the north who looks like a red snake and shines in the night sky. Its name is Molong. Touching the dragon is like the description in the next paragraph: "The human face snakes, red, and thousands of miles long. It is also the god of Zhongshan. " Touching the dragon here is actually an aurora. Aurora is a special kind of light in the sky and the only high-altitude atmospheric phenomenon that people can see with the naked eye. It often appears in the high latitudes of the northern and southern hemispheres, mainly distributed in the Antarctic and Arctic regions. This beautiful light scene is caused by discharge radiation in the upper atmosphere. What appears in the northern hemisphere is called the Northern Lights, and what appears in the southern hemisphere is called the Southern Lights. The northern lights and the southern lights are often called aurora. What our country can see is of course the Northern Lights. There was no word Aurora in ancient China, so it was called Aurora according to its shape differences, such as "Tiangou", "Knife Star", "Chiyou Banner", "Heaven opens its eyes" and "Stars fall like rain". Most of them are scattered in the records of astrology, demon stars, alien stars, meteors and auspicious spirits in history books. The Latin word aurora comes from the Latin Ios. Legend has it that Ios is the embodiment of "dawn" in Greek mythology (actually referring to morning light and morning glow), the daughter of the Greek god Titan, the sister of the sun god and the moon goddess, and the mother of many stars such as the north wind and the evening star. It is said that Aurora is the wife of Orion. In works of art, Ios is said to be a young woman. She either walked quickly arm in arm with a young man, or flew out of the sea in a carriage driven by a flying horse. Sometimes she is portrayed as such a goddess, holding a pitcher, spreading her wings and offering morning dew to the world, just like Guanyin Bodhisattva in the Buddhist story of China, spreading nectar to the world. Research Progress 2065438+On June 3, 2007, 65438+3, the National Polar Research Institute of Japan and the research teams of Tokyo University, Kyoto University and Nagoya University announced that they had successfully captured high-speed flashing aurora images for three consecutive years with high-performance cameras. Under the action of hydrogen ions, a special aurora that flashes repeatedly in a short time is produced. It is expected that this research will further uncover the mystery of aurora.