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The Northern Lights
in Scotland
Scotlands most authentic mystery
The Loch Ness monster is scotlands most enduring mystery, however the Northern Lights "Aurora Borealis"...the name of a light phenomenon often seen in the more northern regions of scotland is the most authentic mystery because with good timing you are certain to see them during the cold clear winter months and late Autumn months. The lights have been around since the Earth formed an atmosphere, the Dinosaurs saw them, early humans saw them and our descendants will also see them.
The scientific name for the phenomenon is "Aurora Borealis", the Aurora for short
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The Aurora Live up to date
forcast & activity page
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The Aurora Page Information, links and images about the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights |
Accommodation to see the Northern Lights
Best places to see the Northern lights in Scotland
Click and choose your viewing lounge
The Far North of Scotland has the same latitude as Moscow (Russia) and Stavenger (Norway) but is more easily accessible. It's advantage of Northern latitude along with the complete absence of street lamps mean regular sightings of the Northern lights "Aurora Borealis" With good timing you have a chance of experiencing one of the world's most magnificent natural phenomena: the Northern Lights. The Northern night sky dancing with red, yellow, green, blue and violet streamers, arcs and rays. The best time to see the Northern lights is in the months of October, November, December and January between 10 pm and 3 am.
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What Causes the Northern lights
Auroral mechanism Auroras are now known to be caused by the collision of charged particles (e.g. electrons), found in the magnetosphere, with atoms in the Earth's upper atmosphere (at altitudes above 80 km). These charged particles are typically energized to levels between 1 thousand and 15 thousand electronvolts and as they collide with atoms of gases in the atmosphere, the atoms become energized. Shortly afterwards, the atoms emit their gained energy as light (see Fluorescence).
Light emitted by the Aurora tends to be dominated by emissions from atomic oxygen, resulting in a greenish glow (at a wavelength of 557.7 nm) and - especially at lower energy levels and at higher altitudes - the dark-red glow (at 630.0 nm of wavelength). Both of these represent forbidden transitions of electrons of atomic oxygen that, in absence of newer collisions, persist for a long time and account for the slow brightening and fading (0.5-1 s) of auroral rays. Many other colors - especially those emitted by atomic and molecular nitrogen (blue and purple, respectively) - can also be observed. These, however, vary much faster and reveal the true dynamic nature of auroras.
As well as visible light, auroras emit infrared (NIR and IR) and ultraviolet (UV) rays as well as X-rays (e.g. as observed by the Polar spacecraft). While the visible light emissions of auroras can easily be seen on Earth, the UV and X-ray emissions are best seen from space, as the Earth's atmosphere tends to absorb and attenuate these emissions. |
Best places to see the Northern lights in Scotland
Northern Highlands Self Catering Cottage Accommodation guide
Luxury crofters cottage, remote, detatched, and easily accessible even in the winter offering you total "comfort and relaxation" while enjoying spectacular views of the Pentland Firth, the Isles of Orkney, Soy and Scapa Flow... and once a month on average the famous and mysterious Northern lights!! A holiday near John O'Groats |
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REMOTE
COTTAGE |
SLEEPS 6 |
TRADITIONAL DETACHED |
SEASIDE
LOCATION |
BEDDING & TOWELS |
| PET FRIENDLY |
TV / DVD VCR/ CD |
TUMBLE
DRYER |
WASHING MACHINE |
PUB / INN
within 3 miles |
| NO SMOKING |
FRIDGE / FREEZER |
WOOD / COAL STOVE |
DISHWASHER
JACUZZI |
AURORA VIEWING
CONSERVATORY |
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Newly restored Luxury crofters cottage, remote, detatched, and easily accessible by even in the winter. Offering fantastic sea views. Arrive to total comfort enjoy views of the North Sea and the famous Greentable, fish for Brown Trout and Salmon in the River Helmsdale..and maybe a wee glimsp of the famous, mysterious Northern lights!
Sea View, Helmsdale, Sutherland |
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REMOTE
COTTAGE |
SLEEPS 6 |
TRADITIONAL DETACHED |
SEASIDE
LOCATION |
BEDDING & TOWELS |
| PET FRIENDLY |
TV / DVD VCR/ CD |
TUMBLE DRYER
DISHWASHER |
WASHING MACHINE |
PUB / INN
within 1 miles |
| NO SMOKING |
FRIDGE / FREEZER |
OPEN FIRE
JACUZZI |
2 x TOILETS,
BATHROOMS |
AURORA VIEWING
CONSERVATORY |
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Luxurious crofters cottage located North West Isle of Skye on the spectacular Waternish peninsular. Offering you cosy accommodation and breathtaking unrestricted views of Loch Bay, the Atlantic Ocean and the Inner and Outer Hebrides Islands. and maybe a wee glimsp of the famous, mysterious Northern lights! A holiday on the Isle of Skye
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REMOTE
COTTAGE |
SLEEPS 4 TO 6 |
TRADITIONAL DETACHED |
ISLAND
LOCATION |
BEDDING & TOWELS |
| PET FRIENDLY |
TV / DVD VCR/ CD |
TUMBLE DRYER
TUMBLE DRYER |
WASHING MACHINE |
PUB / INN NEARBY |
| NO SMOKING |
FRIDGE / FREEZER |
WOOD / COAL STOVE |
JACUZZI |
AURORA VIEWING
CONSERVATORY |
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At 10pm on Wednesday 29th March 2006 on a crystal clear night we saw the
"Northern Lights"
They were amazing. They lasted 45 minutes before the sky faded back to black. What a fantastic holiday! Thankyou so much - we'd like to come back soon.
Paul, Anne, Lauri, Mark and Fergal
What do the Northern lights look like?
Typically the aurora appears either as a diffuse glow or as "curtains" that approximately extend in the east-west direction. At some times, they form "quiet arcs"; at others ("active aurora"), they evolve and change constantly. Each curtain consists of many parallel rays, each lined up with the local direction of the magnetic field lines, suggesting that aurora is shaped by the earth's magnetic field. Indeed, satellites show auroral electrons to be guided by magnetic field lines, spiraling around them while moving earthwards.The earth is constantly immersed in the solar wind, a rarefied flow of hot plasma (gas of free electrons and positive ions) emitted by the sun in all directions, a result of the million-degree heat of the sun's outermost layer, the solar corona |
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The solar wind usually reaches Earth with a velocity around 400 km/s, density around 5 ions/cc and magnetic field intensity around 2-5 nT (nanoteslas; the earth's surface field is typically 30,000-50,000 nT). These are typical values. During magnetic storms, in particular, flows can be several times faster; the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) may also be much stronger. The IMF originates on the sun, related to the field of sunspots, and its field lines (lines of force) are dragged out by the solar wind. That alone would tend to line them up in the sun-earth direction, but the rotation of the sun skews them (at Earth) by about 45 degrees, so that field lines passing Earth may actually start near the western edge ("limb") of the visible sun a numerical simulation of the solar wind illustrates that: Solar wind forecast.
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Northern lights...further Links & Information Pages
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The Aurora Page Information, links and images about the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights
Northern Lights A photograpich exhibition about the Northern Lights by the icelandic photographer Sigurdur H Stefnisson.
NORDLYS - Northern Lights Image gallery, photo contests, regular updates, news. (english and norwegian)
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The earth's magnetosphere is the space region dominated by its magnetic field. It forms an obstacle in the path of the solar wind, causing it to be diverted around it, at a distance of about 70,000 km (before it reaches that boundary, typically 12,000-15,000 km upstream, a bow shock forms). The width of the magnetospheric obstacle, abreast of Earth, is typically 190,000 km, and on the night side a long "magnetotail" of stretched field lines extends to great distances.When the solar wind is perturbed, it easily transfers energy and material into the magnetosphere. The electrons and ions in the magnetosphere that are thus energized move along the magnetic field lines to the polar regions of the atmosphere causing the aurora. The aurora is a common occurrence in the ring-shaped zone. It is occasionally seen in temperate latitudes, when a strong magnetic storm temporarily expands the auroral oval. Large magnetic storms are most common during the peak of the eleven-year sunspot cycle or during the three years after that peak. However, within the auroral zone the likelihood of an aurora occurring depends mostly on the slant of IMF lines (known as Bz, pronounced "bee-sub-zed" or "bee-sub-zee"), being greater with southward slants. |
Geomagnetic storms that ignite auroras actually happen more often during the months around the equinoxes. It is not well understood why geomagnetic storms are tied to the earth's seasons when polar activity is not. It is known, however, that during spring and autumn, the earth's and the interplanetary magnetic field link up. At the magnetopause, Earth's magnetic field points north. When Bz becomes large and negative (i.e., the IMF tilts south), it can partially cancel Earth's magnetic field at the point of contact. South-pointing Bz's open a door through which energy from the solar wind can reach Earth's inner magnetosphere. |
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The peaking of Bz during this time is a result of geometry. The interplanetary magnetic field comes from the sun and is carried outward the solar wind. Because the sun rotates the IMF has a spiral shape. Earth's magnetic dipole axis is most closely aligned with the Parker spiral in April and October. As a result, southward (and northward) excursions of Bz are greatest then.
However, Bz is not the only influence on geomagnetic activity. The Sun's rotation axis is tilted 8 degrees with respect to the plane of Earth's orbit. Because the solar wind blows more rapidly from the sun's poles than from its equator, the average speed of particles buffeting Earth's magnetosphere waxes and wanes every six months. The solar wind speed is greatest -- by about 50 km/s, on average -- around September 5 and March 5 when Earth lies at its highest heliographic latitude.
Still, neither Bz nor the solar wind can fully explain the seasonal behavior of geomagnetic storms. Those factors together contribute only about one-third of the observed semiannual variation.
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The Aurora Live up to date
forcast & activity page
|
The Aurora Page Information, links and images about the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights |
Accommodation to see the Northern Lights
Best places to see the Northern lights in Scotland
Click and choose your viewing lounge
|
