Northern Lights Invasion and Defense

The northern lights attack

About a day after a Volcanic eruption on the Sun tiny particles reach the Earth. If it wasn't for the Earth's great Magnetic-field these particles would hit the surface and have dramatic effect on life itself. The magnetic field sways these particles and makes them go around Earth and while doing so they still hit a big part of the Atmosphere, namely the Oxygen and Nitrogen atoms. The Electrons around these tiny atoms bounce and release power in the form of light. The color of the light visible from Earth depends on the power and type of atoms. We call these the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis when they appear on the North hemisphere and Aurora Australis when the appear in the south. The colors can be all the colors of the rainbow but the green color is the most common one. We can say that we are actually seeing a volcanic eruption on the Sun projected on our night sky and the Earth's Defense mechanism in full action. 

When are the Northern Lights above Iceland? Actually this can be all year round but because the sky doesn't get dark in the summer time you won't be able to see them at all. The Northern Lights can therefore only be visible in Iceland from the beginning of September to the end of March if the cloud cover is favorable. It is hard to say when they appear but one thing is for sure, they are in fact a very faint light and usually aren't visible through the clouds.  

How can astronomers predict the Northern Lights? When an eruption occurs on the Sun it is visible on Earth only 7-8 minutes later and big eruptions facing Earth send along a lot of ions that will take a day or two to reach us. Then there is the spinning of the Sun and the 11 year cycle that is now known to be at maximum activity.

The picture is taken at Mt.Esja towards Reykjavik. The blue light is the Peace tower that Yoko Ono gave the city of Reykjavik few years ago. Sometimes it is also called the Lennon light.

Welcome to the Sun volcano movie above Iceland.