VICKY BOLAÑOS
The citizen science project GLORIA, in which researchers from the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC) involved, retransmit again for the fifth time the phenomenon of northern lights .
It will be between 23 and August 28, several sites in Greenland and Iceland, and can be followed live on the Internet.
The northern lights-name receiving auroral hemisphere are north-visual spectacle in which a glow of various hues among which green across the sky.
when very energetic particles originating from the Sun , known as’ wind occurs solar ‘, reach Earth’s atmosphere . The peak of this phenomenon occurs every eleven years.
This 2014 has coincided with a maximum of solar activity that continues , which, as explained RTVE. is the coordinator of the expedition, Miquel Serra-Ricart, the Sun “is still very active.”
So, the frozen island of Greenland and Iceland were the places chosen by the expedition for retransmit auroras daily , “whenever weather conditions permit” includes the IAC.
In Greenland be between Saturday 23 and Monday 25 August, while in Iceland will remain the Tuesday 26 to Thursday 28 August in the following points marked on the map:
View 2014auroras in a larger map
Origin of auroras
Serra-Ricart has indicated that the origin of the aurora and other phenomena associated with solar storms, “After a flash fire or explosion the solar wind occurs , which are very energetic particles that travel throughout the Solar System and have effects on different planets. “
Emission light is produced in upper atmosphere between 100 and 400 km, and is due to the shock of the solar wind essentially electrons with oxygen atoms – corresponds to verdosos- tones and with nitrogen molecules -are the red tones -.
The entry of these particles is governed by the Earth’s magnetic field and, therefore, can only enter through the north pole (aurora borealis) and South (aurora australis).
Sunspots
The IAC astrophysicist added that increased solar storms that occurs every eleven years is related to the maximum in the number of spots on the star of the Solar System .
The spots on the sun’s surface, which were observed first by Galileo 400 years ago, are a discontinuity in the magnetic field of the Sun .
“In that area a drop in temperature occurs,” he said Serra Ricart, “if the surface temperature is about 6.000ºC, down to about 4,700 or 5.000ºC and appears darker, this is probably a colder zone.”
Aurora Borealis
seen by issuing the IAC in Greenland in 2013 Photo: StarryEarth / JC Married
End GLORIA current project
The broadcast of auroras, the fifth holding astrophysicists IAC, is one of the activities of GLORIA , this 2014 comes to an end, as it is funded through the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union.
However, Serra-Ricart has indicated that they are process of applying for funding the next EU program, Horizon 2020 and continue the project, which could take between one and one and a half.
For GLORIA, participants raise the conducting educational activities , especially for secondary students. The tools and materials are available to all citizens, including videos of auroras expedition last year, which can be seen in this list of Starry Earth.
The FECYT (Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology, Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness) assists in relaying the auroras boraales this August in the Astronomy Citizen II project call for aid for the promotion of scientific culture 2013
The Army, Command Canarias (Ministry of Defence), working in satellite communications in relaying from Greenland.
Meanwhile, three centers of Spanish Supercomputing CETA- CIEMAT (Centre for Advanced Technologies Extremadura), CSUC (Serveis Consortium of University of Catalonia) and CESGA (Supercomputing Center of Galicia) assist in the distribution of web site where you can follow the broadcasts.
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