A spectacular sunset or sunrise is something that can amaze us but it's certainly not the only great thing that can be admired. In this short article, I'll take a look at a few interesting phenomena visible when looking up from Earth.
1. Aurora
Source:https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Virmalised_18.03.15_%284%29.jpg/1024px-Virmalised_18.03.15_%284%29.jpg
It's probably one of the best-known phenomena, but quite hard to experience for most people since it can be observed only at a relatively smallpart of the earth. Its alternative name - the polar lights suggest that it can be seen in high-latitude regions surrounding the earth's southern and northern poles.It is caused by solar winds that disturb the earth's magnetosphere. In effect, the particles in the solar wind and magnetospheric plasma change their trajectoriescausing ionization. The last term means that the molecule loses or gains new electrons, in effect acquiring a negative or positive charge. All of this results in light emission, which is generally green, red, or blue.One interesting fact is that the colour of the aurora roughly tells us about its altitude, with red being the highest, then green at middle and blue at the lowest altitude.Also, auroras can be visible on other planets. It must have a strong magnetic field, so gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn meet these criteria, and using professional telescopes we can see auroras on the poles of those planets
Source: https://64.media.tumblr.com/eedc4fc8661f26f5474a395cca850a3b/tumblr_mht98mY3MO1qmvxavo4_r1_1280.jpg
2. Noctilucent clouds
Source:https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.universetoday.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F05%2FNLC-May-31-2013a-Stuart-Atkinson1.jpg&f=1&nofb=1
Noctilucent clouds contrary to the Aurora can be visible in Poland. It is most often observed when the days are the longest, so around the summer solstice on cloudless evenings when looking west an hour after sunset.They are the highest of all clouds on earth, occurring in the mesosphere, which is around 80 kilometres above sea level and are made of ice crystals. They are different from traditional clouds, which happen when water collects particles.They were first observed in 1885 after the eruption of Krakatoa.
3. Polar stratospheric clouds
Source: https://n-15-1.dcs.redcdn.pl/file/o2/redefine/cp/71/714i2weirr67xpuufosu5bstuf1igjzq.jpg
PSCs form at temperatures of around -85 degrees celsius in the stratosphere, so about 20 kilometres about sea level.Such low temperature makes it possible to produce clouds in the extremely dry air occurring at those high altitudes. They can be visible similarly to northern lights at high-latitude regions like Scandinavia, Iceland, Alaska and Northern Canada and mostly in the winter time. They are the brightest an hour before the sunrise and an hour after the sunset. The light reflected by them from the sun makes them iridescent. These clouds are extremely rare, and unfortunately are one of the effects of the formation of ozone holes.
4. Halo
Source: https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmasscience.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F03%2Fhalo-solar-mexico-21.jpg&f=1&nofb=1
The last phenomenon I would like to present is a halo, which is an optical illusion of a ring around a light source produced by ice crystals refracting sunlight in the day or moonlight in the night. The first one being generally colourful, while the latter colourless. It's because the moonlight isn't very bright. Also one of the variants of a solar halo is a sun dog which makes the refraction stronger on the side giving an illusion of two smaller suns at the side of the halo.
1. Have you witnessed any of the above phenomena?
2. Do you know of any other interesting and unusual phenomena that can be seen in the sky?
3. Do you know how people living in the past interpreted those phenomena? What do you think it could mean for them?
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_stratospheric_cloud
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noctilucent_cloud
Comments
There's actually a fair deal of unusual atmospheric phenomena, many of them absolutely stunning and spectacular. My favorite are the upper-atmospheric sprites. They are fairly ill-understood but well-documented electric discharges in the mesosphere, characterized by their distinct red hue and absolutely gargantuan, titanic size. They can span more than fifty kilometers, and appear gigantic even from Earth (though faint in brightness) despite occurring so high up. On rare occasions, they may coincide with another atmospheric electric phenomenon known as blue jets, and create a gigantic discharge stretching from upper atmosphere all the way to the cloud layer. There's also the rather whimsically named elves, which are gigantic and rapidly expanding halos or rings of faint red light that occur even higher than the sprites. Our atmosphere is very dynamic and has immense electrical potential which sometimes creates beautiful spectacle, though sadly most of it too high up and too faint for the human eye to truly appreciate or even see without the aid of sensitive cameras. Still, we can at least appreciate the raw power of thunder and lightning without the help of technology.
Thunder and lightning seem to have become associated with some form of divinity or the supernatural in most cultures on our planet. In a way, it's understandable. Lightning strikes are events of truly immense power, felling trees and splitting stone where they hit, creating deafening shockwaves when they strike, and for brief moments matching the temperature of the Sun's surface. They overwhelm all of the human senses even at a long distance and can utterly destroy many things we normally consider rather sturdy. No wonder the ancients almost universally ascribed it to the wrath of gods or evil spirits.
Outside of lightning and thunder however, I don't think atmospheric phenomena were speaking to human imagination that much. The incredible upper-atmospheric discharges are too faint to be visible on most nights, more esoteric events like ball lightning are simply too rare. Rainbows often carry some sort of a cultural significance I suppose, but not nearly as universally as lightning. However, phenomena which aren't strictly speaking atmospheric but still appear in the sky have certainly been interpreted, and rather dramatically, by people in the past. Solar eclipses are spectacular enough that they simply demand that humans make something of them, and they universally did. Meteor showers and comets were likewise given a large significance, usually seen as omens that harbinger something in the future. Supernovae were also sometimes observed by the ancients. The supernova SN 1006 which occurred in the year 1006 (the name rather unoriginally does simply stand for supernova and the year in which it happened) was observed all around the globe, from Switzerland to China. It was described by some then-contemporary astronomers as a "guest star" visible even during the day. Not that long after, in 1054, there was another supernova which also remained visible during the day for quite a while. I imagine this unusual confluence of celestial events must've caused some reaction, especially since supernovas visible to the naked eye are actually quite rare. The last supernova observed to have happened in our galaxy at all occurred in 1868, and the last one visible to the naked eye in 1604.
Yes, I was able to observe noctilucent clouds and halo a few times. They look astonishing. I really hope I would be able to amaze myself by looking at aurora in real life.
2. Do you know of any other interesting and unusual phenomena that can be seen in the sky?
Yes, I personally like god rays. It happens when light rays strikes clouds through multiple, narrow holes. It looks great from the distance and in mountains especially.
3. Do you know how people living in the past interpreted those phenomena? What do you think it could mean for them?
I can only guess as even written proof can't tell everything. I know in slavic mythology we have Zorza, Zoria, Jutrzenka or Jutrznia, depending on region, the godess of dawn but maybe for the more north oriented slavs she could also be connected to auroras.
2. When it comes to other phenomenons, I like to watch super moon and meteor showers (Perseids and Geminids).
3. In the past, these phenomenons probably had spiritual meaning for people. As Tadeusz said before, in 1054 the supernova exploded (this created the Crab Nebula) and it was connected with the East-West Schism as a sign from God that bad things are happening.
2. I don't remember now, but in junior high school I made a presentation about similar phenomena for a physics lesson.
3. I guess people thought it was some sign from the gods. The sound of thunder was attributed to e.g. Thor, Zeus, etc., a solar eclipse in China was equated with the sun being devoured by a dragon, etc.
2. I am more fascinated by phenomena that take place above the Earth's atmosphere, so I know many of those that have their beginning in the cosmos. I have several applications on my smartphone that notify about phenomena that can be seen depending on time and geographic location. Shooting stars, flyby of the ISS space station, precipitation of artificial satellites, lunar eclipse, solar eclipse, comet passes, etc.
3. Many of the natural phenomena were defined as divine action. Even such well-known and common phenomena as thunderstorms were the wrath of the gods. What is especially interesting to me is how "scientists" at the time were able to predict a solar eclipse to manipulate uneducated populations. The example of Egypt where Pharaoh's trusted advisers reported in advance of eclipses to intimidate the faithful is fascinating. But science is moving forward, and today a solar eclipse is an event where people from all over the world come to where it will be most visible. I would love to go to the best place to watch such a show myself.
Unfortunatelly I have not. I consider all those phenomenas very astonishing. My favourite one is arctic aurora and I plan to travel once to have a possibility see it. I even purchased leds to my room that can imitate the light of aurora. It's a mix of blue, green and cyan colours.
2. Do you know of any other interesting and unusual phenomena that can be seen in the sky?
First things that came into my mind is for example eclipse, but it is such a rare event. From more common things I thing the twillight and savanna sunset are also very beautiful but they are not unusual phenomenas.
3. Do you know how people living in the past interpreted those phenomena? What do you think it could mean for them?
I have no clue but because of the fact that they did not have the knowledge like we do right now about surrounding us world I think they could be scared when they saw those things for the first time. They could also relate those phenomenas with religion, maybe a sign from god and so on?
I think it was quite likely that it was a meteor or more likely it could be a satellite which solar panels were hit perfect by sunlight making it a very bright object on the sky for a few seconds. Also I've never heard about upper-atmospheric sprites and they indeed seem to be a fascinating topic and quite spectacular too!
@Karol Michalak
I think that god rays are fairly common, but agree that they turn out really nice, especially on photos.
@Jędrzej Kowalczyk
I highly recommend giving Finland a visit, I was in the nortern part of it in late spring, so I didn't manage to see an aurora, but was able to experience extremely long days.
@Karol Soltysiak
Yeah, so what you experienced in the Alps sounds like one of the many variations of the halo. Could you share with us what exactly apps are you using that notify you about cosmic pehnomena?
@Bui Ky Anh
Good idea with the lights, your room must be very aesthetic I guess.
The sky is full of interesting phenomenons, so there is plenty to choose from. Not all of them can be seen everywhere on Earth, but the ones that I have seen are Perseid meteor showers, solar and lunar eclipse. Perseid showers can be seen usually in the summer with a clear sky. Solar eclipses, on the other hand, for a specific location can be seen once in a few years.
People have always tried to interpret the occurrences of sky phenomenons in regards to their lives. One of the most popular examples would definitely be astrology and predictions for people born in a specific time frame. However, this field of study has been qualified as a pseudoscience, as no correlation between the astrological signs and the character of a person having it has been found. As for the phenomenons that you have mentioned, I have only heard of the Inuit's people interpretation of the aurora. Inuit believed that the Northern Lights were the spirits of the dead. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the whole meaning and the story behind it.
The only phenomenon I have witnessed is “Noctilucent clouds”, which are actually sometimes visible in our sky. Unfortunately I have not witnessed any other phenomena, although I must admit that I would like to see with my own eyes a phenomenon called Aurora, because it looks amazing.
2. Do you know of any other interesting and unusual phenomena that can be seen in the sky?
I have heard about a very interesting phenomenon that can be seen in the sky called " fire rainbow " . It is a phenomenon that looks like a 'burning rainbow' of very different shapes.
3. Do you know how people living in the past interpreted those phenomena? What do you think it could mean for them?
In my opinion, it is quite likely that people living in the past could interpret such a phenomenon either as a miracle or as punishment from their gods. I once read an article about a tribe that prayed to an old bottle of Coca Cola. I think it all depends on what beliefs and lifestyles the society or tribe had.
I have witnessed is one of the phenomenon presented in this article called: Noctilucent clouds. Sometimes it is visible on the sky and I find it really attractive to watch. In my opinion it is one of my favorite type of clouds, on the other hand it has to be spectacular basing of the background how it is created. One day I would love to see aurora in real life. I have watched it few times on YouTube and photos but when I read some adventures blogs everybody says that it is incredible view.
2. Do you know of any other interesting and unusual phenomena that can be seen in the sky?
Unfortunately I can't say say by name any interesting phonemes. For example rainbow is the simplest one and comparing to the others presented in the article very popular, but every time I see it, it makes me happy. Moreover I like to watch night of shooting stars. Once I have watched them on the beach and it was for sure the best place to watch this event. I have tried to watch it also in Warsaw, but there is too much light around us to see it that good.
3. Do you know how people living in the past interpreted those phenomena? What do you think it could mean for them?
I think it is true that people in the past were interpreting those phenoma. I have idea, for example the Aurora or Halo could mean something which was a close meeting with God or some aliens. For sure people in the past had their beliefs in this sign presented on the sky and we can only imagine how different they were.
I have witness halo a few times and maybe Noctillucent clouds but without knowleadge what they are so im not sure of that. I would love to see aurora one day.
2. Do you know of any other interesting and unusual phenomena that can be seen in the sky?
Yes:
-Sprites - that is an alatrical shock that is created during storm but not within the clouds but over them in the mezosphere
-clouds altocumulus lanticularis - spherical clouds that create over the mountain peaks
-morning gloria - long and roller shape clouds that can spread throught few hundred kilometers, it appears mainly in north austrailia near Berktown city.
3. Do you know how people living in the past interpreted those phenomena? What do you think it could mean for them?
Some people try to explain them and find scientific explanation why it happening and others tryied to corelate them with gods and god's powers.