Named for the Roman goddess of the dawn the Aurora Borealis, or (Northern Lights) are shimmering curtains of white, red, green and violet light that illuminate northern skies. Occasionally, the Northern Lights appear as a simple band.  When more active, the lights fold and unfold in rhythmic waves.  When most active, these luminous curtains swirl and bend and flicker and dance in sudden flashes.  Stuart Barr has captured this spectacular light show as it appears near Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada.

The Northern Lights have inspired the legends of northern peoples for generations.  The Inuit personify them as powerful spirits of the dead.   Other Native American beliefs explain the phenomenon as the souls of murdered warriors.  The Finnish Lapps feared the northern lights as manifestations of the violent wars of the dead who continue their battle in the cold night skies.  The Scandinavian people speculated that the powerful rays of the Sun shot up into the night through the weak edges of the Earth’s crust.

Today, scientific study provides us with another explanation.  Electrons from the Sun stream through Earth's upper atmosphere and collide with the atoms of elements such as oxygen, nitrogen and neon. This impact creates a charge. When the atom discharges the extra energy created by the collision, coloured light is formed.  The type of atom involved determines the colour of the light created.  Oxygen atoms give off a greenish-white light. Nitrogen atoms emit a violet band, while neon atoms give off a red glow. These electrons stream in thin sheets, explaining the curtain or wave-like appearance of the light.  Modern beliefs hold that the northern lights make crackling and swishing sounds, however no sound has ever been detected with scientific instruments.  Enthusiastic observers believe that whistling will make the lights dance.  Although never proven, such playful interactions beguile the young and the young at heart on cold winter nights.

From space, the Aurora Borealis forms an oval band of activity surrounding the magnetic North Pole. The best place to view the Northern Lights is in a narrow band between the 65th and 70th parallel, where the lights can be seen about two-thirds of the year. Fort Smith lies just south of this band. The auroral display occurs from 100 – 300 kilometres above the Earth, beyond the clouds, which is why the lights are most visible on a clear night.   Because of the angle at which the lights are viewed, they actually look closest when they are highest in the sky.  Jets fly well below the aurora, but space shuttles fly right through it. The auroral oval around the magnetic South Pole is called the Aurora Australis.  Aurora Australis, or (Southern Lights) behave in much the same way as their northern counterparts.

Stuart Barr’s lens captured nature’s most fascinating phenomenon set to the music of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. So sit back, relax and be enchanted by the Aurora Borealis.

www.stuartbarrphotography.com