Let's Just Call It Steve

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

“Steve” as photographed by Catalin Tapardel
Aurorasaurus.org Blog

We visual artists are deeply interested in light in all its various forms and manifestations. One fall, Ann and I had the opportunity to view the Aurora Borealis while we were on a trip to Minnesota. Soft green clouds and curtains of light raced across the northern sky toward us and over our heads before disappearing. They pulsed rapidly, much like the waves on the lake where we were staying. It was fascinating and lucky for us that our mobile phone cameras could capture even more of it than the eye can see.

Scientists have long understood what causes the two types of auroras that we see - the Aurora Borealis in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Aurora Australis in the Southern. The technical description from the NOAA goes like this:

High-energy particles from the sun strike electrons in our magnetosphere. (The magnetosphere is our “force field” w…