astronomy
WORDS:DJSMITH
I
YA2009isaglobalcelebrationofastronomy (ataltitudesabove80km)areconvertedinto
anditscontributiontosocietyandculture, light,formingthesevisibleglows,rays,arcs,
markingthe400thanniversaryofthefirstuseof bands,andveils.
anastronomicaltelescopebyGalileoGalilei.The Manyothercolours–especiallythoseemitted
aimoftheYearistostimulateworldwide byatomicandmolecularnitrogen(blueand
interestinastronomyandscienceunderthe purple,respectively)–canalsobeobserved.
centraltheme“TheUniverse,YourstoDiscover.” These,however,varymuchfasterandrevealthe
Inmanypartsofthecountrythedamagedone truedynamicnatureofauroras.
bybadlyinstalledlightingspreadsunnecessary Thebesttimetoseethenorthernlightsare
lightskywardandobliteratesanyclearviewof thecrisp,clearwinternightsfromOctober
thenight-sky.This,however,issomethingnight- throughtotheendofMarch,between10pmand
skywatcherssuffertoalesserdegreein 3am.“Ithinkeverbodyshouldgettoseethe
Scotland,andvisitingtheHighlandstosample Auroraatleastonceintheirlife,”says
theclearskyviewcanbeliterallyeye-opening. photographerPhilHart.“Mysticalandmagical
Oneofnature’smostspectacularand barelybeginstodescribeit.”
beautifulsightsthatcanbeseenintheScottish ToseeAuroraBorealispicturestakenin1989
night-skyistheAuroraBorealis,orNorthern byKenFraserfromagardeninFortroseonthe
Lights,sometimescalled“TheMerryDancers.” BlackIsle,nearInverness,visit:
ThefarnorthofScotlandhasthesamelatitude www.aurora.musicscotland.com/index.htm
asMoscowandStavanger,andit’sadvantageof
northernlatitude,alongwiththecomplete FormoreinformationontheIYA2009visit
absenceofstreetlamps,leadstoregular www.astronomy2009.org a73
sightingsoftheAurorawhenthenightsky
danceswithmulti-colouredstreamers,arcs
andrays.
Anauroraldisplaywilloftenbeginasafaint
MainImage:LongexposureofthenightskyoutsideFodderletternear
greenishglowafewdegreesabovethehorizon, Tomintoul.(MartinDuthie-www.flickr.com/photos/martinduthie)
graduallyrisingwithrayslikecarheadlights
appearingtoshootupwardsandshiftsideways.
Top:AuroraphotographednearAberdeen,Scotland.
Theeffectiscausedbygiganticovalhaloesof
(PhilHart-http://philhart.com)
radiationaroundthemagneticpolesofthe
Bottom:AuroratakenfromthesettlingpondsinGlentressForestnear
Earth.Energyfromelectricallychargedparticles
PeeblesusingNikonFM2n/28mmlens/f2.8/Exposure20
enteringtheupperatmospherefromspace secs/FujichromeProvia400film. (Mike Dickson)
the north magazine 9
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