Aurora Borealis OnLine
Aurora Borealis back on air from Greenland
By GLObal Robotic-telescopes Intelligent Array Via gloria-project.eu
The maximum of the solar activity is approaching! Like in
2012, an expedition to observe the Aurora Borealis from the south of
Greenland will take place in the period 24-29 August. Named Shelios
2013, the expedition is promoted by the scientific-cultural association
Shelios and is coordinated by its president Miquel Serra-Ricart,
astronomer of the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands and
member of the GLORIA Project. A daily broadcast from the surroundings of
the Qaleraliq glacier will be available on the web.
Aurora Borealis observed in late August of 2012 from the Tasiusaq farm.
The pictures were taken during the Shelios 2012 expedition (see shelios.com/sh2012, J.C. Casado-starryearth.com).
AURORAS
From the data collected in the last 200 years it is known that the
solar maxima follow a cycle of approximately 11 years (see figure).
Solar activity is defined by the number of sunspots detected on the
surface of the Sun. As we approach the maximum, the number of sunspots
increases, as shown in the upper panel. Additionally, Sun’s magnetic
field changes polarity. Observational data tell us that this is just
happening! This is a clear sign that the 24th period of solar activity will peak sometime before the end of 2013.
During the solar maxima the intensity of the solar wind increases,
leading to an increase of flux of elementary particles arriving at
Earth. These electrically charged particles are channeled towards the
magnetic poles by the Earth’s magnetic field, where they interact with
the Earth’s atmosphere, causing the Aurora Borealis (northern
hemisphere) and the Aurora Australis (southern hemisphere). The best
zone to observe the phenomena is in a circle around the magnetic North
Pole, in particular between 60 and 70 degrees North. However the
magnetic pole does not coincide with the geographic North Pole. Actually
it moves over time. It is currently located off the coast of the
Canadian island of Ellef Ringnes, meaning that southern Greenland is an
excellent place to observe auroras.
Northern Lights. Greenland via Live.gloria-project.eu.
In the upper panel, solar activity plot (sunspot number against time).
The first peak corresponds to the last solar maximum (during the end of
2001); current predictions say that a new maximum will occur before the
end of 2013. In the lower panel, solar activity during the last 100
years (number of sunspots on the surface of the Sun against time).
Credits: sidc.be.
Auroras are classified as diffuse or discrete. The latter type can
consist of luminous curtains which change quickly and have several color
tones (see the photo). The light emission takes place in the atmosphere
at altitudes between 100 and 400 km and it is a consequence of the
collision of the solar wind (essentially electrons) with atoms of oxygen
(greenish tones) or nitrogen molecules (reddish tones).
As mentioned, this wonderful celestial spectacle only takes place in
regions not to far from the North and the South Pole. However the show
is worth a trip at least once in a lifetime! But if you can’t, Shelios and GLORIA are offering you a chance to watch the show via Internet at live.gloria-project.eu (see details below).
Expedition Location
The Shelios 2013 expedition is promoted by the scientific-cultural
association Shelios and is coordinated by its president Dr. Miquel
Serra-Ricart, Astronomer of the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary
Islands. The main objective of the expedition will be the observation of
the aurora borealis from the South of Greenland at an epoch close to
the maximum of the solar activity.
More information available at shelios.com. A collection of images from the past expeditions is available here.
Encircled numbers mark the locations where the observations and the broadcasting will take place.
Broadcasting
There will be a daily broadcast between 24 and 29 August 2013 from the surroundings of the Qaleraliq glacier (longitude=46.6791W; latitude=60.9896N) and two additional places located in the south of Greenland (see map above). The live broadcast will be between 00:30 to 1:30 UT (2:30 – 3:30 CEST; where UT = Universal Time and CEST = Central European Summer Time); late in the night in Europe. Note that weather conditions could cause changes in the schedule. The event broadcast will include:- Live Connection
Live footage will be broadcast from a black and white camera each evening, providing video sequences showing the movements of the aurora. It can be watched on the GLORIA live website live.gloria-project.eu and the main collaborator sky-live.tv. - One-Minute Time-Lapse
Color still images will be obtained each minute and posted to the mentioned website to create a time-lapse animation of the aurora. Two identical Canon 5D Mark II cameras will be used. The observing sites will be separated by a distance of at least 1 km (maximum 50 km) in order to be able to calculate the height of the aurora using the parallax method. In fact these images will be accessible from the web in order to perform the proposed educational activity.
Educational activity
Using the collected aurora images, an educational activity is proposed to be carried out:Calculation of aurora altitude from images using color and parallax methods.
See the activity reference document here.
Links
During the broadcasts we will have daily information on the solar activity through the following nodes:- Latest solar images in different wavelengths from the SOHO Satellite (international cooperation between the ESA and NASA space agencies): http://sohowww.estec.esa.nl/data/realtime-images.html
- Solar activity and forecasts:
- Europe: http://sidc.oma.be/index.php3
- United States: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/SWN/
- SolarCycle24 website: solarcycle24.com
What is GLORIA?
GLORIA stands for “GLObal Robotic-telescopes Intelligent Array”. GLORIA
will be the first free and open- access network of robotic telescopes
in the world. It will be a Web 2.0 environment where users can do
research in astronomy by observing with robotic telescopes, and/or by
analysing data that other users have acquired with GLORIA, or from other
free access databases, like the European Virtual Observatory
(http://www.euro-vo.org).
Who and how can you access GLORIA?
The community is the most important part of GLORIA. If you are here it means you have an Internet connection and a web browser. Excellent! This means you can become a GLORIA user and be able to observe, and to perform experiments. In fact GLORIA is open to everybody with an interest in astronomy, not only to professional astronomers.
The community is the most important part of GLORIA. If you are here it means you have an Internet connection and a web browser. Excellent! This means you can become a GLORIA user and be able to observe, and to perform experiments. In fact GLORIA is open to everybody with an interest in astronomy, not only to professional astronomers.
Except where otherwise 
0 comentarios :