The Northern Lights
24-29 August 2013 (00:30-1:30 UT), Greenland (Denmark)
The Phenomenon
Year 2013: Maximum in solar activity.
According to latest predictions, the Sun will start its 24th period of solar maximum before the end of
2013. 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 Figure 1. Additionally the
magnetic poles of the Sun flip. Observational data tell us that this is happening right now (mid August).
Figure 1. Solar activity plot for the past 13 years (sunspot number against time). The first maximum corresponds
to the last solar maximum (2001). Predictions indicate that the next maximum will occur before end 2013.
Credits http://sidc.be.
From observational data collected during the last 200 years, it is known that the solar maximum
(maximum of sunspots) follows a cycle of approximately 11 years (see Fig. 2).
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Figure 2. Solar activity during the last 50 years (number of sunspots on the surface of the Sun against time).
One of the consequences of the solar maximum is that the Sun increases the emission of very energetic
elementary particles (solar wind) in what is called a “solar storms”. The main effects that the solar
maximum has on Earth are:
1. Interference problems in communications networks (terrestrial and satellites).
2. Possible problems with electricity supply due to the massive arrival of electrons at the terrestrial
surface.
3. Possible effects on the terrestrial climate.
4. Increase in frequency and luminosity of polar auroras (Northern/Southern Lights).
During the 1989 solar maximum, intense solar storms caused serious problems with electricity supply
to several cities in the north of the United States and Canada. Several satellites also suffered temporary
anomalies in the course of these storms. The relation between solar activity and terrestrial climate has
been a subject of debate in the last few years. There are indications suggesting that Earth is cooled
down during solar activity minima. Moreover, a prolonged solar minimum occurred between the years
1645 and 1715 (the Maunder minimum, see Fig. 3) and it is believed that this caused a small ice age,
with effects that manifested in Northern Europe.
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Figure 3. Solar activity during the last 400 years (number of sunspots on the surface of the Sun against time).
During the solar maxima the intensity of the solar wind increases, leading to an increase of flux of
elementary particles arriving at Earth. In fact Earth’s magnetic field channels these particles towards
the magnetic poles where they collide with the atoms and molecules of the atmosphere, causing the
Aurora Borealis (Northern hemisphere) and the Aurora Australis (Southern hemisphere). The best
zone to observe the Aurora Borealis is in a circle around the magnetic North Pole, between 60 and 70
degrees North. However the magnetic pole does not coincide with the geographic North Pole and
moves over time. It is currently located off the coast of the Canadian island of Ellef Ringnes, meaning
that southern Greenland is an excellent location to watch the auroras.
Auroras
As mentioned, this wonderful celestial spectacle takes place when very energetic particles from the
Sun reach the Earth’s atmosphere via the solar wind. The entrance of these particles is governed by the
Earth's magnetic field and, therefore, they only can penetrate through the atmosphere in regions close
to the North Pole (Aurora Borealis) and the South Pole (Aurora Australis). The auroras can be of
different types. Sometimes they consist of luminous curtains, which change quickly and show several
colors. The light emission takes place in the region of the atmosphere called thermosphere, 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). During 2011
and 2012, a period of increased solar activity, intense auroras were detected (see Fig. 1).
Expedition-Location
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The Shelios 2013 expedition (see more information at http://www.shelios.com/sh2013a) is promoted
by the scientific-cultural association Shelios and it’s coordinated by its president Dr. Miquel SerraRicart (Astronomer of the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands). The main objective of the
expedition will be the observation and images collection of the Aurora Borealis from the South of
Greenland in a period of maximum solar activity (see Fig. 1).
Figure 4. Encircled numbers (1,2,3) mark areas from where the observations and live broadcast of the Aurora
Borealis will be carried out.
Broadcasting
There will be a daily broadcast, whenever weather conditions allow it, between 24 and 29 August
2013, from three different places in the south of Greenland (see Fig. 4). The location 1 is situated in
the surroundings of the Qaleraliq glacier (longitude = 46.6791W; latitude = 60.9896N, Fig. 5), the
second in a farm of Tasiusaq (Fig. 6), and the third in the village of Quasiarsuk (Hostal Leif Eriksson,
see Fig. 7). The broadcasts will be when it is night time in Europe and will last one hour, between
00:30 to 1:30 UT (22:30–23:30 local time of the previous day in Greenland, 2:30–3:30 CEST; where
UT means Universal Time and CEST Central European Summer Time). The event will be broadcast
on the website live.gloria-project.eu and will be performed at two levels:
1) Live Connections
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Live broadcast using a black and white video camera pointing to the sky with the aim to show the
actual movements of the aurora.
2) Time-Lapse
During the live broadcast and every minute, two color images of the starry sky will be posted to the
mentioned website. The two images will be obtained at the same time by two Canon 5D Mark II color
cameras equipped with identical lenses and placed at two locations some km apart (the maximum
distance would be 50 km). These images will be accessible from the website and will allow students to
calculate the height of the aurora using the parallax method (details can be found in the activity
manual).
Figure 5. Site camp at the Qaleraliq glacier. It will be the main broadcasting location (marked 1 in Fig. 4, J.C.
Casado-starryearth.com).
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Figure 6. Tasiusaq’s Farm, the second location of the broadcasts (see Fig. 4, J.C. Casado-starryearth.com).
The broadcast can be followed either from the GLORIA’s portal live.gloria-project.eu or the portal of
the principal contributor sky-live.tv. The GLORIA portal will also display updated weather
information and any change in the schedule of the broadcast. The broadcast will be advertised on
several website and, additionally, a few hours in advance via GLORIA’s social networks.
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Figure 7. Aurora Borealis seen from the town of Quasiarsuk, southern Greenland, on late August 2011 (location
3 in Fig. 4). The image was taken during the expedition Shelios 2011 (see shelios.com/sh2011, D. Padrónstarryearth.com).
Educational Activity
With the images taken during the expedition we will propose to perform the following educational
activity:
Calculation of aurora altitude from images using color and parallax methods.
See the event dedicated web page on the GLORIA website gloria-project.eu for more information.
Links
During the broadcasting we will have daily information on the solar activity through the following
nodes:
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○
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 forecast:
■ Europe: http://sidc.oma.be/index.php3
■ United States: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/SWN/
Credits
The Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union (EU, FP7/2007-2013,
INFRASTRUCTURES-2011-2, INFRA-2011-1.2.1: e-Science environments) collaborates
with the broadcast through the GLORIA project – GLObal Robotic telescopes Intelligent
Array for e-science” (Grant Agreement Number 283783).
Video collaborators
Web collaborators
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Will participate to the web distribution:
- National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) IASF Bologna
- Institute of Astrophysics of Canary Islands (IAC)
- Warsaw University
- Oxford University
- Supercomputer Center of Catalunya (CESCA)
- Alared Web Solutions
- Canarcloud company
- HEAnet from Ireland
- Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
- University College Dublin, Ireland
Further Collaborators
- The Army, Canary Command collaborates in satellite communications.
- Tasermiut South Greenland company collaborates with logistics in Greenland.
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