Could our planet be under
attack from the unearthly forces that cast a mysterious glow across the
poles, disrupting life as we know it?
The strange, beautiful coloured lights that circle the Earth's polar regions are a source of fascination for many.
But as the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, dance in the
frozen skies over Alaska, scientists' trigger fingers are poised to
launch rockets.
This magnificent phenomenon, Aurora Borealis is named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas. It is also known as "Dance of the Spirits" by the Cree and was believed a sign from the heaven's during the Middle Ages in Europe.
The lights at their most frequent in late autumn and winter/early spring could be spotted between the autumn equinox and spring equinox (21 September - 21 March), as it is dark between 6 pm and 1 am. However, the
weather is also of importance, and September, October and November tend
to be wet and snowless in the north
Auroras seen near the magnetic pole may be high overhead, but from
farther away, they illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or
sometimes a faint red, as if the Sun were rising from an unusual
direction.
Discrete aurora often display magnetic field lines or
curtain-like structures, and can change within seconds or glow
unchanging for hours, most often in fluorescent green. The phenomenon most often occurs near the equinoxes.
Researchers at the world's largest land-based rocket
range hope to learn more about these storms and their impact on lives in
the northern hemisphere.
It is this disruption that the researchers are trying to help mitigate.
