“The Aurora Borealis”

by Caleb, KE0FOE

Space weather is something that Skywarn organizations don’t usually follow. However, it can be fun to study, and it can have a big effect on radio propagation as we all know.

One of the most popular types of space weather is the Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights. During this past weekend, many news outlets were saying there was a good chance that the Aurora Borealis might be visible throughout the northern Midwest states as far south as Iowa or even northern Missouri.

The term Aurora Borealis comes from Latin and means “morning light coming from the north”.

Did you know that the color of the Aurora Borealis varies with altitude? Blue colors occur around 60 miles above the ground and are harder to see. Greens happen around 100 miles above the earth, and are the easiest to see. Meanwhile, reds occur the highest at about 150 miles above the ground and can, therefore, be seen the furthest south.

Auroras tend to be more frequent and spectacular during high solar sunspot activity. One of the most popular destinations for viewing the Northern Lights is in Norway due to its relatively mild climate at such high latitudes. And the South Pole does have Auroras too. In the southern hemisphere, the effect is known as the Aurora Australis or the Southern Lights.

For more interesting facts and folklore about the Dog Days of Summer, visit these links: Wikipedia. Check out this YouTube video to hear what the effect of Aurora propagation sounds like on amateur radio: https://youtu.be/e3UM2-hRqjI