What would happen if you hypothetically happened to touch an aurora

Asked by: Robert Larjin

What would happen if you touched an Aurora?

The aurora is emitted between 90 and 150 km in altitude (i.e. mostly above the ‘official’ boundary of space, 100 km), so ungloving your hand inside an aurora would likely be fatal (unless a fellow astronaut immediately reattaches your glove and repressurizes your suit).

Can you fly into an Aurora?

High above our planet, astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) have been enjoying an up-close view of auroras outside their windows as the ISS flys through geomagnetic storms. “We can actually fly into the auroras,” says eye-witness Don Pettit, a Flight Engineer for ISS Expedition 30.

Can an Aurora touch the ground?

Auroras can never touch the ground, contrary to the many reports handed down by folklore. The emission of the light requires very low density gas conditions so that the atoms do not become ‘collisionally excited’ into other states.

Can aurora be seen with naked eyes?

Can you see the Northern Lights with the naked eye? Yes. If the Northern Lights are strong enough you can see them with your naked eye. However, most photographs of the Northern Lights are taken with special camera setups, and at least a long shutter speed.

What is the rarest northern light color?

On rare occasions, sunlight will hit the top part of the auroral rays to create a faint blue color. On very rare occasions (once every 10 years or so) the aurora can be a deep blood red color from top to bottom. Pink hues may also be seen in the lower area of the aurora.

Do Northern Lights have a sound?

Listeners have described them as a faint rustling, clapping or popping. An observer in the 1930s said the northern lights made “a noise as if two planks had met flat ways — not a sharp crack but a dull sound, loud enough for anyone to hear.”

What Colour are the Northern Lights to the human eye?

green

Simply put, most auroras are green. That would be the shortest and scientifically correct answer, (there are other colours of the aurora but green is the most commonly observed and relevant colour to this question). However, it doesn’t always appear green to our eyes.

Can Planes see Northern Lights?

Yes you can see the northern lights from an airplane!!! 389 people like this. But flying to or from Alaska usually means the nose is pointed north or south so it is not possible to sit on the north side of the plane, only east or west. We were lucky enough to see them twice between Boston and Reykjavik.

What did the Vikings think of the Northern Lights?

The Northern Lights have inspired some of the most dramatic tales in Norse mythology. The Vikings celebrated the lights, believing they were earthly manifestations of their gods. Other Norse people feared them, telling stories of the dangers they posed and developing superstitions to protect themselves.

Are auroras hot?

But feeling heat is another matter – the density of the air is so low at 60 miles (96 kilometers) up that a thermometer would register temperatures far below zero where aurora displays occur. Auroras are relatively dim, and the redder light is often at the limit of what human retinas can pick up.

Are Northern Lights rare?

Fortunately, they occur frequently. “The northern lights are happening 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,” said photographer Chad Blakely, owner of the northern lights tour company Lights Over Lapland (opens in new tab).

Can Northern Lights be white?

Green is the most common color observed but the Northern Lights can also appear white-gray. And a cloudy night if you’ve never seen them before, you might not even be entirely sure of what you’re looking at.

Why is red aurora rare?

Rare, all-red auroras occur much higher, at 300 to 500 kilometers altitude and are associated with a large influx of electrons. These electrons are moving too slowly to penetrate deeply into the atmosphere: they actually have less energy than the electrons that create more common auroras.
22 мар. 1989

Can auroras be blue?

This blue glow can happen at altitudes above 500km! It is usually invisible with naked eyes but a camera can capture it quite well. During strong storms, the whole canopy can turn blue. However many people mistake the blue color of the aurora with another phenomenon.

What causes pink aurora?

Pink and dark red: Occasionally, the lower edge of an aurora will have a pink or dark red fringe, which is produced by nitrogen molecules at altitudes of around 100 km . Red: A bit higher in the atmosphere (at altitudes of 300 to 400 km ), collisions with oxygen atoms produce red auroras.

Are Northern Lights poisonous?

The Northern Lights occur so high up in the atmosphere that they don’t pose any threat to people watching them from the ground. The aurora itself is not harmful to humans but the electrically charged particles produced could have some potentially negative effects to infrastructure and technology.

Can u whistle at the Northern Lights?

Don’t whistle at the Northern Lights



The biggest faux pas you can commit while viewing the Northern Lights is to wave, sing or whistle at them. Alerted to your presence, the spirits of the lights will come down and take you away.

Are the Northern Lights radioactive?

So the Northern Lights you see emit no radiation, but are themselves electromagnetic radiation emitted by collision between highly energetic solar particles and our atmosphere.”

Is Aurora Borealis rare?

To observers at far-northern latitudes, they’re a frequent occurrence, but many who live in more temperate climates have never seen them, even though they’re sometimes seen as far south as 35 degrees north latitude.

Why is red aurora rare?

Rare, all-red auroras occur much higher, at 300 to 500 kilometers altitude and are associated with a large influx of electrons. These electrons are moving too slowly to penetrate deeply into the atmosphere: they actually have less energy than the electrons that create more common auroras.
22 мар. 1989