The Northern Lights

Recently there was a spotting of the Northern Lights. I have always heard of the Northern Lights, but never really knew what it was. I also had only ever heard that the Northern Lights were in Canada. So with the recent sighting in Fair Grove, MO, it intrigued me to research more about them.

The Northern Lights are also known as Aurora borealis’ in the north and Aurora australis’ in the south. The lights have been reported as shades of red, yellow, green, blue, and violet. They appear as patchy scattered clouds or streams of light.

So what causes the Northern Lights? The Northern Lights are the result of colliding gaseous particles in the Earth’s atmosphere running into charged particles released from the sun’s atmosphere. The various colors that have been reported are due to the different type of gases that are smashing into each other. Of all of the different colors spotted the most common is a light yellowish-green. This shade is produced by oxygen molecules found sixty miles about the Earth’s surface. The rarest reported are the red lights. Red is made by high altitude oxygen, up to two hundred miles. The blueish-purpleish aurora is produced with Nitrogen is present. Since the Northern Lights are seen fifty to two hundred miles about the surface of the Earth, a cloudy night could obstruct the view. It needs to be very dark, even a bright full moon can ruin the view.

Albany.edu reports that in 1575 was the first published illustration by Cornelius Gemma. And the most recent was just the last Monday evening, October 24, 2011.

A few more facts about the Northern Lights: What is the best time of year to see the Northern Lights? March and September are the best months to likely see the lights. For a few reasons this is true…first the Earth’s orbit is in the zone of maximum solar activity and second these months have dark skies along with mild temperatures making it a perfect scene. Where is the best place to see the Northern Lights in the United States? Alaska! This is the best place in the United States to witness the lights, because they occur in the “auroral oval” which is centered on the northern geomagnetic pole, and passes over Alaska. But if you are not in Alaska don’t worry. The Northern Lights have been spotted in the northern states that border Canada, the changes of seeing one decreases the further south you get.  

So I guess the view of the Northern Lights in parts of Kansas, and even closer to home, Fair Grove, Missouri was a rare and special sighting. I wish I could have witness the extraordinary red auroras that were seen randomly throughout the states. I looked for information on patterns or forecast of auroras to see when the next would possibly be seen, but I didn’t find any documentation. The Northern Lights are a rare experience in the Midwest, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed that I get to see them at some point in my life time!