The northern lights were making national news a few weeks ago. Reports of the displays came streaming in from as far south as Florida. Seeing them always seems to elicit a sense of wonder and awe, and there may well be more shows to come this winter.
Northern lights are associated with solar storms and the resultant strong solar winds. When those strong solar winds collide with the gases and ions in the atmosphere near the north pole, it causes them to glow. The different colors are due to differences in the amount of energy given off by different atoms or molecules.
In the northern hemisphere, the display is called “aurora borealis” — or more commonly, northern lights. The phenomenon also occurs near the south pole, where it’s known as “aurora australis,” or southern lights.
Remember that the U.S.-Canada border is the 49th parallel. Between about 55 degrees and 80 degrees north latitude, the northern lights may be observed somewhere, about every other night. As one might expect, the frequency drops as you head south. But if the sky is clear, North Dakotans often have several opportunities per year to observe the northern lights.
Cultural Mythology
The northern lights were woven into the cultural mythology of earlier civilizations. The Inuit believed they celestial spirits playing a game of football with a walrus skull. Some other Native American tribes perceived them as gods dancing in the sky, or perhaps the harbingers of good weather.
Northern lights likely played several roles in Norse mythology. One explanation was that they were flickers of the Valkyrior’s armor as they rode the sky. Another myth likely inspired by the northern lights was that of “Bifrost,” a burning, trembling bridge or arch that allowed the Gods to travel from the heavens to earth. Some even thought they were the reflection of large swarms of herring. The first explanation given to me when I first saw them was that it was just the right set of conditions to see the sunlight reflecting off the polar ice cap!
So, be on the watch for future auroral shows. Local TV and radio meteorologists will usually announce them. And you can keep an eye on the NOAA Aurora Dashboard, which contains information and predictions on when and where the northern lights may be observed.
