Jovial Aurorae

Well, it’s been some time since I’ve actually put an effort into this and made a full page post instead of uploading single photos and quick facts on our Facebook page. Guess I should step my game up šŸ™‚

If you live in specific parts of the world, the sight of the Aurora Borealis are so common you probably are used to them and think nothing of them. Myself living in Toronto can only remember seeing them a few times when I was a preteen with my Dad. When I see people who live in Norway and other areas and their pictures across the internet I instantly became pretty jealous because, well, when you see this every night, damn how do you concentrate on driving and getting work done?

Earth Norway Aurora

Did you know that sights like these are not unique to Earth? Sure we have a magnetic field that protects us from a lot of nasty stuff, but other planets in our Solar System have magnetic fields too, and they too get Aurorae just like us. Some of them are so wildly different to what we see on Earth that it’s just.. it’s just awesome šŸ™‚

On Jupiter, the sights are deep reds and blacks of aurora, with flashes of white and light blue as Io interacts with the fields of the planet and whatever is causing the the Aurorae itself (usually the Sun’s farts, otherwise known as Coronal Mass Ejections). Here’s a shot of them in action, filtered into UV spectrum for easier viewing:

Jupiter Aurora 1

 

On Saturn, it’s a wild show of gold and yellow, with the occasional green and white flashes.

Saturn Aurora 1

My personal favourite, Uranus and it’s wild lime green and baby blue shows on a dark blue and purple backdrop, depending on which side of the planet you’re “standing” on. (Note: if you were standing on a “surface” of Uranus. that’s what the sky would look like.. with a whole lot of lightning).

Uranus Aurora 1

Uranus Aurora 2

 

Lastly, here’s Neptune, with a spectrum of colours almost encompassing the entire visible rainbow. Also, a deep purple and blue backdrop, with a whole lot of lighting.. and baseball sized Methane diamonds pelting you in the face as you looked up..

Neptune Aurora 2

Neptune Aurora 1

 

Now then.. back to Saints Row 4.. my current video game obsession of choice šŸ™‚

 

 

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