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Auroras: Fire in the Sky
A celebration of nature's spectacular light shows, and a visual feast documenting the kaleidoscopic colors that decorate the sky. For millennia, humans have been fascinated with the ghostly green and red curtains of light that shimmer across the heavens on dark, clear nights. Ancient peoples saw these displays as souls of the dead, the torches of the spirits and as harbingers of war. Barely 100 years ago, scientists finally learned that an aurora is created when the Earth's magnetic field is bombarded with charged particles from the sun. When the charged particles collide with oxygen in the atmosphere, auroras with yellows, greens and reds appear. Collisions with nitrogen result in bluish colors. However, our understanding of the physics behind auroras has not detracted from their wonder. Auroras is filled with 80 photographs of one of nature's greatest spectacles, complete with captions that reflect on the folklore, science and beauty of the northern lights. The book poses and answers the many scientific questions about Auroras is where cutting-edge science meets the stuff of dreams.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 12, 2016
The chief joy of this book are the photographs of the auroras by Yuichi Takasaka. The author, Dan Bortolotti, is wise to let his text take back seat to the incredible pictures, since trying to "talk" about auroras is like trying to capture a will-o-the-wisp in words.
That being said, Bortolotti has some fascinating information on the history of human reactions to the auroras, as well as very clear explanations of why and how and where they occur. I had already known about the connection of the auroras with the solar wind, but I didn't know that the charged particles create different colors for different gases at various altitudes.
Both author and photographer wax poetic in their awe at a red aurora: "A crimson aurora is the Holy Grail of skywatchers." Takasaka has taken thousands of pictures of auroras but has only seen the red aurora four times. They only occur when intense storms happen on the sun, and high level oxygen particles are bombarded intensely.
The most interesting section for me was about Kristian Birkeland, who was at first scorned for his idea that the solar wind was responsible for the auroras. He was a brilliant man, nominated for the Nobel Prize seven times--but sadly, he died at age 49. Later, his ideas were vindicated, and now the streams of charged particles are called Birkeland currents :-)
I really liked this quote on p. 116: "Does the aurora become less wondrous when you understand that it is caused by magnetism and not magic, by gases and not goddesses? As American physicist Richard Feynman once wrote, 'I don't see how studying a flower ever detracts from its beauty. It only adds.'"
That being said, Bortolotti has some fascinating information on the history of human reactions to the auroras, as well as very clear explanations of why and how and where they occur. I had already known about the connection of the auroras with the solar wind, but I didn't know that the charged particles create different colors for different gases at various altitudes.
Both author and photographer wax poetic in their awe at a red aurora: "A crimson aurora is the Holy Grail of skywatchers." Takasaka has taken thousands of pictures of auroras but has only seen the red aurora four times. They only occur when intense storms happen on the sun, and high level oxygen particles are bombarded intensely.
The most interesting section for me was about Kristian Birkeland, who was at first scorned for his idea that the solar wind was responsible for the auroras. He was a brilliant man, nominated for the Nobel Prize seven times--but sadly, he died at age 49. Later, his ideas were vindicated, and now the streams of charged particles are called Birkeland currents :-)
I really liked this quote on p. 116: "Does the aurora become less wondrous when you understand that it is caused by magnetism and not magic, by gases and not goddesses? As American physicist Richard Feynman once wrote, 'I don't see how studying a flower ever detracts from its beauty. It only adds.'"
July 31, 2012
It was like a picture book for adults - fun and interesting.
August 2, 2017
Gorgeous pictures! A brief history of how the Auroras were scientifically studied over the centuries.
September 6, 2017
Understand much more about this natural exciting phenomenon, from scientific, historic and beauty aspect!
October 19, 2018
Great photography!
June 16, 2019
My June nonfiction resolution book, mostly pictures so kind of cheating I guess. But pretty! With solid science, history, and advice too.
July 9, 2019
Very well done photography
May 17, 2024
Outstanding pictures on every single page! The complex concepts were told in a very down to earth way that made them fun to read and easier to understand.
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March 29, 2025Nice intro into the history and science of auroras
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews