14 Nebraskaland • June 2021
IN THE FIELD
By Martha Shulski
NATURE'S LIGHT SHOW
I had the pleasure of living in the Far North for seven years
before calling Nebraska home again. There is much beauty
to behold in the subarctic, not the least of which is the
northern lights. Magnificent, dynamic and colorful displays
that can light up the polar night are called aurora borealis
(or aurora australis if you inhabit the southern hemisphere).
The aurora is a product of space weather and what happens
when solar wind particles are deflected into the earth's far-
reaching upper atmosphere. The geomagnetic poles of our
planet are where magnetic field lines come together, both in
the north and the south. Think of longitudinal lines that arc
far around earth and meet around both polar regions.
Aurora typically occur at a distance of 10 to 20 degrees
from these geomagnetic poles, which explains why these
light displays are common at high latitudes. While rare,
the northern lights can be seen in middle latitudes as
well. Geomagnetic storms, or solar storms, can result in
displacement of where aurora typically occur and that's
when we should train our eyes skyward. Clear nights, away
from light pollution and near the time of a new moon, is the
best recipe to view an auroral glow.
This light can appear red, green, blue, yellow or pink
and is dependent on the type of element — think oxygen
and nitrogen — and frequency of its movement. The forms
you can expect to see range from a glow on the horizon to
patches, arcs, rays and coronas. If you haven't seen aurora
while standing on earth, try from the air during an overnight
flight.
As a weather person, I find delight in seeing aurora in the
comments section of old hand-written monthly weather
reports. If I take the time to stop and observe, I always find
something interesting.
Northern lights on the surface of an Oglala National Grassland pond in Dawes County. BOB GRIER, NEBRASKALAND
