Spoiler alert: both northern and southern lights are both types of Auroras. The main difference? One occurs near the south pole, and the others at the north. The scientific name for the northern lights is Aurora Borealis, while the scientific name for the southern lights is Aurora Australis.
How is an aurora borealis different from an aurora australis?
When that wind slams into Earth’s ionosphere, or upper atmosphere, the aurora is born. In the Northern Hemisphere, the phenomenon is called the northern lights (aurora borealis), while in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s called the southern lights (aurora australis).
Which is better aurora borealis or aurora australis?
Other than geographical location, there really is no difference between the Northern Lights and the Southern Lights. They both take place over the polar regions and are basically the same phenomenon.
Are the northern lights and the southern lights the same thing?
The northern lights (above) and their lesser-known sibling the southern lights, aurora borealis and aurora australis, respectively, undulate across the skies in hazy green and sometimes red ribbons near Earth’s polar regions. The two phenomena aren’t identical, however, and now researchers think they know why.
Why do the northern and southern lights differ?
They found another effect responsible for auroral differences: The solar magnetic field squeezes Earth’s magnetic field in nonuniform ways. They also showed a burst, or “substorm,” of additional charged particles in the tail can undo the effects of the uneven squeezing, removing the mismatch.
Can you see aurora australis with naked eyes?
Some are very strong and can be visible to the naked eye, whereas some may only be ‘seen’ through a long exposure photo on a DSLR or a Mirrorless camera. It is a bit of a myth that the light will always be visible to the naked eye and in fact it’s actually very rare for this to happen.
Why is aurora australis red?
Red Aurora as Seen from the Space Station
Auroras are caused when high-energy electrons pour down from the Earth’s magnetosphere and collide with atoms. Red aurora occurs from 200 km to as high as 500 km altitude and is caused by the emission of 6300 Angstrom wavelength light from oxygen atoms.
What time of year is best to see aurora australis?
winter
The Southern Lights can be viewed all year round – although most commonly during winter (May to August) and during the spring equinox in September. Your best chance of witnessing this phenomenon is to be as far south as possible – which means Tasmania.
What did the Vikings call the northern lights?
The Old Norse word for the aurora borealis is norðrljós, “northern lights”. The first occurrence of the term norðrljós is in the book Konungs Skuggsjá ( The King’s Mirror , known in Latin as Speculum Regalae ), written in 1250 AD, after the end of the Viking Age (the Viking Age dates ca.
Do auroras make noise?
What is clear is that the aurora does, on rare occasions, make sounds audible to the human ear. The eerie reports of crackling, whizzing and buzzing noises accompanying the lights describe an objective audible experience – not something illusory or imagined.
What does Borealis mean?
The word borealis is Latin for boreal, which simply means “northern.” The aurora borealis is not the only aurora on Earth. The aurora in the Southern Hemisphere is called aurora australis or the southern lights.
Can you see the aurora borealis in Australia?
If you’ve ever heard of the aurora australis, you might wonder: is it possible to see the aurora australis in Australia? They are named for Australia, after all! Yes, it’s possible to see the aurora australis – also called the southern lights – in Australia! You just need to know when and where to go.
What are the two most common and two most rare colors seen in the auroras?
Most of the auroral features are greenish-yellow, but sometimes the tall rays will turn red at their tops and along their lower edges. On rare occasions, sunlight will hit the top part of the auroral rays to create a faint blue color.
Do southern lights exist?
In the north, the phenomenon is called the aurora borealis or the northern lights. In the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the aurora australis, or southern lights.
Does Antarctica have aurora borealis?
The answer is yes, though they are not referred to as the “Northern Lights.” Auroras occur around both the North and South Poles, but auroras that occur in the southern hemisphere don’t get much attention for various reasons.
Why is it called aurora borealis?
In 1619 A.D., Galileo Galilei coined the term “aurora borealis” after Aurora, the Roman goddess of morning. He had the misconception that the auroras he saw were due to sunlight reflecting from the atmosphere. Image left: Early drawing of the aurora, depicted as candles in the sky, 1570.
Can you photograph aurora with iPhone?
There’s just one important rule: Use a tripod, or find some way to keep your device perfectly still. Photographing the night sky means keeping the lens open long enough for the camera to absorb enough light, so it’s important to keep your iPhone or iPad still to prevent blurring.
Can Northern Lights be white?
[The aurora or northern lights] only appear to us in shades of gray because the light is too faint to be sensed by our color-detecting cone cells. Thus the human eye views the northern lights generally in faint colors and as shades of grey/white.
What does the aurora borealis look like in person?
However, it doesn’t always appear green to our eyes. Sometimes it can be silvery in appearance, or even a strange hue of grey or white, however if you point a camera at it, you will usually see green pop out from the sky.
What is the opposite of aurora?
the end of the day. nighttide. nightbreak. setting. finish.
Can you see aurora from a plane?
Seeing the Northern Lights from a plane
Seeing the Northern Lights from thousands of feet in the air is a unique experience because the lights appear brighter from the sky than from the ground. It is also easier to see the subtle dancing movements that the lights make.