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Auroras are now known to be caused by the collision of charged particles (ions (+) (-) ) found in the magnetosphere, with atoms in the Earth's upper atmosphere (at altitudes above 80 km). Got that? |
GEOMAGNETIC STORMS that ignite auroras actually happen more often during the months around the equinoxes. It is not well understood why geomagnetic storms are tied to the earth's seasons, while polar activity is not. It is known, however, that during spring and autumn, the earth's and the interplanetary magnetic fields link up. At the magnetopause, Earth's magnetic field points north. When Bz becomes large and negative (i.e., the IMF tilts south), it can partially cancel Earth's magnetic field at the point of contact. South-pointing Bz's open a door through which energy from the solar wind can reach Earth's inner magnetosphere. |
SO.......WHAT HAS THAT GOT TO DO WITH THE TRAMSMISSION? |
The latter, which occurred on September 2, 1859 as a result of the exceptionally intense Carrington-Hodgson white light solar flare on September 1, 1859, produced aurora so widespread and extraordinarily brilliant that they were seen and reported in published scientific measurements, ship's logs and newspapers throughout the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia. |
Some telegraph lines however, seem to have been of the appropriate length and orientation which allowed a current, a geomagnetically induced current, to be induced in them due to Earth's severely fluctuating magnetosphere, and actually used for communication. |
What you heard was not actually a verbal conversation, but a portion of a conversation carried on by two telegraph operators. The conversation was carried on for around two hours using no battery power at all, and working solely with the current induced by the aurora, and it was said that this was the first time on record that more than a word or two was transmitted in such manner. You see, the ultimate energy source of the aurora is the solar wind flowing past the Earth. WOW! What power! Can't beat Mother Nature for spectacular events, now can you? |
COMMANDER TANK'S AURORA BOREALIS LIGHT FANTASTIC MAGIC TIME PORTAL |
HI, FELLOW TIME TRAVELLERS, |
COMMANDER TANK HERE! |
I'M ON A LIGHT FANTASTIC VOYAGE ! |
FOLLOW MEeeeeeeeeee! |
DO YOU HEAR SOMETHING? |
These particles travel into space with speeds of 300 to 1200 kilometers per second. Now that's fast! |
It often appears as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the sun were rising from an unusual direction. The aurora borealis is also called the northern lights,kind of like North Pole, Santa Claus...oh well...as I was saying, it is only visible in the North sky from the Northern Hemisphere. The aurora borealis most often occurs from September to October and from March to April. Its southern counterpart, aurora australis, has similar properties. Australis is the Latin word for "of the South". |
GOT YOUR INTEREST, DIDN'T I? |
OK, SO WHAT WAS THAT? THE PRETTY LIGHTS AND THAT CONVERSATION, YOU ASK? |
Well, all those spectacular scenes are called Auroras and are natural colored light displays, usually observed in the night sky, particularly in the polar zone. Some scientists call them "polar auroras" or "aurorae polaris". |
Now, in the northern latitudes, it is known as the aurora borealis, named after the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora, |
and the Greek name for north wind, Boreas |
I'M GETTING TO THAT! |
The auroras which occurred as a result of the "great geomagnetic storm" on both August 28, 1859 and September 2, 1859 are thought to be perhaps the most spectacular ever witnessed throughout recent recorded history! |
NOW PAY CLOSE ATTENTION, OK? HERE'S THE WHYS, HOWS AND WHAT HAPPENED! |
It was said in the New York Times that "ordinary print could be read by the light of the aurora". The aurora is thought to have been produced by one of the most intense coronal mass ejections in history, very near the maximum intensity that the sun is thought to be capable of producing. |
And, it was the first time where the phenomena of auroral activity and electricity were unambiguously linked. |
Of course all the scientific instruments measued this spectacular event, but a significant portion of the 125,000 miles of telegraph lines then in service being significantly disrupted for many hours throughout the storm! |
Now, do you think Aurora is only seen on Earth? |
NO!............... My fearless adventurers ! |
Both Jupiter and Saturn have magnetic fields much stronger than Earth's |
and both have large radiation belts. Aurora has been observed on both, most clearly with the Hubble Space Telescope. These auroras seem, like Earth's, to be powered by the solar wind. |
Of course there's our old friend Mars... Not only does it have strange pyramids, as you discovered with Captain Bootsie. But an aurora has recently been detected on Mars, even though it was thought that the lack of a strong magnetic field would not make one possible! |
I could go on and on... why? because it's FASCINATING! |
But I did mention North Pole and Santa Claus didin't I? |
So......here goes with some fascinating curious traditions! |
The American version of St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus originally came from the Dutch version called Sint Klaas. (New York) brought this fun |
The Dutch settlers in New Amsterdam |
and lively tradition to America. |
A merry old man with red and white clothes |
Eight flying reindeer, later joined by Rudolph the red nosed reindeer. |
The habit of filling socks or stockings with presents on the night of December 24th. |
Santa brings us all together! Kids all over the world know who Santa is... who can help but love the jolly old elf? |
It's the Idea of giving that reminds us; we are all on this planet together, for the long run. |
So lets be kind to one another! |
WELL, GOT TO RUN AND FIND THE CREW..... THE COUNCIL OF ELDERS FROM PUPPY WORLD ARE WAITING FOR US! |
SINCE WE'RE STAYING ON PLANET EARTH FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON.....THEY DECIDED TO BRING US SOME GIFTS...... |
COME ON, HELP ME! LETS FLY! |
This article uses material excerpted from WikipediaŽ. ard distributed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License |
Photo of Commander Tank copyright 1999-present by J Shahverdian |
Music from the Album Signs by Adam Certamen Bownik Licensed under the Creative Commons Sampling Plus 1.0 |
