Aurora over Finland | Magazine

During the night of March 15, Lapland was treated to a real spectacle thanks to the aurora borealis, which illuminated the sky in different shapes and colors.

The aurora borealis over the sky of Rovaniemi, Finland, on the Arctic Circle, was captured by a local photographer who claims that this was the best spectacle this year.

March is generally considered one of the best months to view the northern lights and it is likely that interesting images like this will be recorded in the coming weeks.

Today it is known that the aurora is caused by electrons accelerated by a voltage of 1,000 to 15,000 volts. Light is created when these electrons collide with atoms in the upper atmosphere, usually at altitudes of 80 to 150 kilometers.

Auroras can also be seen in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum, which registers particularly well from space (but not from Earth because the atmosphere absorbs ultraviolet rays). The space probe “Polar” registered the aurora even in the X-ray region.

The appearance of the aurora borealis is linked to magnetic storms, which in turn are linked to the eleven-year cycle of sunspot activity. It has also been observed that geomagnetic storms most often occur at the time of the equinox, that is, in early spring or autumn, which is somewhat puzzling because the activity at the poles has little to do with the seasons.

Auroras have also been observed on Jupiter and Saturn, planets whose magnetic fields are much stronger than Earth’s. They are driven, as on Earth, by the solar wind. Jupiter’s moons, especially Io, also cause powerful auroras. Recently, the aurora borealis was also discovered on Mars, although it was believed that this was not possible due to the lack of a strong magnetic field.

The auroras that resulted from the great geomagnetic storm of August 28 and September 2, 1859, however, are considered the most spectacular in recent recorded history.

(RTS)