Everyone has the one little place in their mind they dream
of going at least once in their life. Nature has so many faces that each and
everyone’s dream holiday location differs from one another. Some prefer a day
in the sun, away from all the fuss of office and just enjoy the sea breeze in
their faces and return home with a nice tan to show off the next day. Some want
to trek and hike the tallest mountains, get to the edge of the highest point
and shout their lungs out into the valleys to hear them echo back. A few would
prefer getting out in the wild, explore nature’s craft when it comes to staying
alive in the densest of forests and get close to other breathing organisms. To
the contrary, there will also be a bunch of lazy bums who would like to spend
their dream vacation in the most luxurious of hotels around the world, sipping the
costliest cocktails and taking a tranquillising massage by the poolside.
I certainly come in the nature loving side of things.
Although, I do want to live in the wild, trek the most enthralling trails and
climb the tallest mountains, none of them is my dream destination. I hope
everyone has heard about Aurora Borealis a.k.a. The Northern
Lights (or Aurora Australis). If you haven’t
heard or seen pictures of it then you are about to be taken to another level of
astonishment about Mother Nature.
When the first time I came across this very spectacle of
nature, I was stunned by it. After that, my only goal was to go Aurora chasing! Let me now give you a
few facts about Auroras. Aurora is named after a Roman Goddess of dawn. This phenomenon
occurs in the vicinity of the Earth’s magnetic poles, both North and South poles.
They usually are very clearly seen during winter nights at either poles and
discovering them at day times is a lot harder. The best part about it is that
every time they do appear in the exosphere, they have a completely contrasting
shapes and sometimes vibrant shades of colours too.
 |
| A Solar Storm |
Now, let’s get to the part on how they actually work. The
origin of this beautiful spectacle of nature is also the reason for almost all
life on Earth, the Sun. The Sun’s core is where most of the nuclear fusion of
hydrogen to helium takes place. It releases gigantic amounts of energy in the
form of heat. This heat travels to the surface of the Sun in the form of
eddies. Everyone who knows the science behind induction or understands the
working of a transformer is familiar with the concept of eddy currents. The
exact same thing happens on our source of life energy too. These eddies have
their own magnetic fields when they travel towards the surface. Sometimes, this
field which also consists of the fused gases and particles, extends its arms
off the surface. They twist and turn in the form of a rubber band and
eventually break out from the Sun’s surface. And hence, the journey of several
billion tonnes of gases trapped in the magnetic field hurled into the Universe
begins. This is knows as a Solar Storm.
Scary, huh!
The solar storm reaches speeds in millions of kilometres per
hour making its journey through the solar system. It might take less than a day
to reach Earth. But when it does, the magic truly begins. Our incredible planet
shields itself from the massive magnetic energy with its own magnetic strength
deflecting the storm and coupling the fields. Since, the magnetic lines move
form pole to pole, the coupling causes a funnel type path for the gases to
filter onto the exosphere above the poles. Now, the gas particles ionizes the
atmospheric gases leading to the phenomenon called Aurora. It is so riveting that
something as dangerous as a solar storm could create something as beautiful as
the Aurora.
Now you know in what category of people I come in. I want to
witness tiny little gas particles light up the winter night sky with beautiful
indentations of colours and texture across the horizon. The thought about the
chill in the air, the longevity of the nights and the thrill of the
anticipating such a sight grips me in every way possible.
Today, I may not be able to make the journey to my dream
destination. But, there will coLeave your comments about your dream destination. I would love to know!
Posts
Good article man! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot!! :-D
Delete