As we explore together the many wonders of wildlife that mother nature shares with us, we will also occasionally explore the beauty of nature itself. Not only is nature key to wildlife in the form of habitat, but nature is also incredibly important to humans who thrive when harmoniously and compassionately connected with the natural environment around them. (If you’d like to learn more about this, look into concepts like biophilia and forest bathing). We will occasionally post "Connection Cues” which will provide suggestions on how you can meaningfully engage with a specific aspect of the natural world that surrounds you.
For this month’s Connection Cue, we’ll be exploring one of my favorite phenomena of all time: the Northern Lights (or the Aurora Borealis)! I’ve always been thoroughly enchanted by the magic of the Northern Lights. I think my daughter said it best when she said, “Mama, you know how they say that a person's eyes are the window to their soul? I think the Northern Lights are the window to heaven’s soul.”
Last night, we had the pleasure of stumbling upon a beautiful display to the northeast of Moscow Mountain. We were in awe of the beautiful curtains of white, green and red lights that danced on the northern horizon. Then we looked up, only to discover a bright band of purple and white dancing directly above our heads! What made this display even more magical was the fact that as the lights began to fade, a bank of clouds rolled over the bright canopy of stars in the crystal clear night sky and began to dump snow on us!
A couple of news sources have speculated that this particular light show may possibly last into Saturday evening, so keep an eye out on the northern half of the skies tonight and tomorrow! With the luck of clear skies and only a sliver of a moon for competing illumination in the heavens, you may yet get a chance to see the same display that we were lucky enough to catch Thursday night! If you live in the city and see that the night sky is clear, take a drive to get away from the competing lights of town. Look for a view of the northern horizon that is free of any manmade or natural obstacles like buildings, mountains or a tall tree line that may block your line of sight.
The formation of this fascinating phenomenon lies in the interaction between the energy of our sun and the magnetic field that cradles our planet. NASA Science for Kids has a neat article that explains this in further detail. Check it out here!
What Is an Aurora? | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/aurora/en/
Here are a couple of additional articles that explore the dynamics of this particularly phenomenal display!
A 'hole' 30 times Earth's size has spread across the sun https://news.yahoo.com/hole-30-times-earths-size...
The Northern Lights could dazzle the skies from Washington to New York https://www.yahoo.com/.../northern-lights-could-dazzle...
I’ve included a few photos that I was able to snap with a cell phone. If you catch a glimpse of this treasured nighttime display, please share your photos in the comments! Feel free to share additional details like the location as well as any photography tips or tricks you employed to capture your shots!
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