The Math Blaster Blog

If you do not live in the Arctic or Antarctic regions of the world, or in the otherwise far north or south regions, you have probably never seen a fantastic, outer space phenomenon called an aurora. Think of an array of flashing lights in the night sky, and you would have a slight idea about how amazing auroras are.

Though auroras might look like products of computer graphics, they are all-natural. When energetic charged particles from the Sun collide with our earth’s magnetic field, something amazing occurs — to put it in less formal way, the sky puts on a light show for Earth’s inhabitants.

The name “aurora” is derived from “Aurora,” the Roman goddess of dawn. Generally, people may be most familiar with the term “aurora borealis,” which is the name given to auroras in the northern latitudes of the earth. They are also referred to as the “Northern Lights.” This celestial phenomenon also occurs in the southern-most regions of the earth, called “aurora australis” (also known as “Southern Lights”).

Scientists have recently developed a new imaging device that can help them understand more about these beautiful, natural events. The NORUSCA II is a new camera that can take pictures of different spectral bands — that is, this unique and ingenious camera can even capture images of light or even different wavelengths and colors.

We still have much to learn about auroras and different natural events that occur all across the world, but it is clear that we are on a good path to finding out more. Have you experienced anything cool in the environment around you? Share with us in the comment section below! Tell us what you think about auroras and about other cool science questions.

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