Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Northern Lights

Carpe Diem #623 Northern Lights

The Northern lights are caused by collisions between escaped particles of the sun and gases in the earths  atmosphere.   The Auroral displays seen above the magnetic poles of the north and south appear in many colors.  The most common color is a pale yellowish green.  Rarer colors are shades of red, blue, and violet  The color is determined by the type of gas the charged particles bump into.  Oxygen is what causes the most common color.  Oxygen in very high altitudes  cause the rare all red auroras.  The blue and purple shades are caused by nitrogen gas.  

collision of gases
emitting curtains of light
dawn of the north


But the northern lights cannot  just be explained by science.  It is the beauty of these lights that capture our attention.  They are patches of eerie light, rippling curtains and shooting rays that spark our imagination and and evoke feelings of mystery.



uncertain danger
reflected fires of enemy camps
Aurora Borealis



flashes of bright color
fill the dark winter night
auroral display



arc of color
hands held in the darkness
watching northern lights


curtain of light
shimmers in the winter cold
flight of fancy

13 comments:

  1. Oh despite the reasons I love the poetry of that display... love this-

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    1. Thank you! I would love to have the opportunity to see these someday... dreaming.

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  2. I rather like the idea of holding hands with someone you love to watch the heavenly lights!

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    1. I also like the image of holding hands!

      Northern Lights

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    2. any excuse to hold hands is nice. I've never seen the norther lights ,but we use to sit out and watch Perseids Meteor showers in August. One year in December we bundled the children and went out and lay on the sidewalk wrapped together in a sleeping bag to watch the Geminides.

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  3. Very well done...science and emotion...

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  4. So beautiful, Dolores :)

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  5. These are all wonderful Dolores ... the Northern Lights are really honored by your kind words caught in these haiku. The Northern Lights are magical and in my opinion a gift of Mother Earth to remember us that we have to care for her.

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    1. So true. We get so many gifts from the earth that we do not show gratitude for. We really do need to take better care.

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    2. I love to use your last haiku for our Tan Renga Challenge if that's ok?

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  6. A great post Dolores .. from the profane to the sacred .. thanks for all the work you put into it .. a great pleasure to read! :-)

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