Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Notes about units
- 1 The Solar System
- 2 The Sun
- 3 The Moon
- 4 Mercury
- 5 Venus
- 6 Earth
- 7 Mars
- 8 Minor members of the Solar System
- 9 Jupiter
- 10 Saturn
- 11 Uranus
- 12 Neptune
- 13 Beyond Neptune: the Kuiper Belt
- 14 Comets
- 15 Meteors
- 16 Meteorites
- 17 Glows and atmospheric effects
- 18 The Stars
- 19 Stellar spectra and evolution
- 20 Extra-solar planets
- 21 Double stars
- 22 Variable stars
- 23 Stellar clusters
- 24 Nebulæ
- 25 The Milky Way Galaxy
- 26 Galaxies
- 27 Evolution of the universe
- 28 The constellations
- 29 The star catalogue
- 30 Telescopes and observatories
- 31 Non-optical astronomy
- 32 The history of astronomy
- 33 Astronomers
- 34 Glossary
- Index
17 - Glows and atmospheric effects
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Notes about units
- 1 The Solar System
- 2 The Sun
- 3 The Moon
- 4 Mercury
- 5 Venus
- 6 Earth
- 7 Mars
- 8 Minor members of the Solar System
- 9 Jupiter
- 10 Saturn
- 11 Uranus
- 12 Neptune
- 13 Beyond Neptune: the Kuiper Belt
- 14 Comets
- 15 Meteors
- 16 Meteorites
- 17 Glows and atmospheric effects
- 18 The Stars
- 19 Stellar spectra and evolution
- 20 Extra-solar planets
- 21 Double stars
- 22 Variable stars
- 23 Stellar clusters
- 24 Nebulæ
- 25 The Milky Way Galaxy
- 26 Galaxies
- 27 Evolution of the universe
- 28 The constellations
- 29 The star catalogue
- 30 Telescopes and observatories
- 31 Non-optical astronomy
- 32 The history of astronomy
- 33 Astronomers
- 34 Glossary
- Index
Summary
Glows of various kinds are seen in the sky. Some, such as rainbows and haloes, are purely meteorological, while others, notably the Zodiacal Light, are purely astronomical. Of these glows, much the most famous – and the most spectacular – are the auroræ, northern and southern.
AURORÆ
Auroræ or polar lights (Aurora Borealis in the northern hemisphere, Aurora Australis in the southern) must have been observed from early times, since they are often strikingly brilliant. The Northern and Southern Lights are of the same type, but obviously the northern displays arc better known, because the Southern Lights are not well seen from inhabited countries. They are sometimes visible from the southern parts of South America and New Zealand and occasionally from South Africa, but most of the displays over the ages must have been enjoyed only by penguins.
Legends and folklore
Auroræ have a major rôle in folklore, particularly of northern peoples. Here is a description given by the Inuit of the Hudson's Bay:
The sky is a huge dome of hard material arched over the flat Earth. On the outside there is light. In the dome there are many small holes, and through these holes you can see the light from the outside when it is dark. And though these holes the spirits of the dead can pass into the heavenly regions. The way to heaven leads over a narrow bridge which spans an enormous abyss. The spirits that, were already in heaven light torches to guide the feet of the new arrivals. These torches are called the Northern Lights.
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- Information
- Patrick Moore's Data Book of Astronomy , pp. 288 - 292Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011