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XLeptodactylous

XLeptodactylous

Currently reading

I Am Pilgrim: A Thriller
Terry Hayes
Legends of King Arthur: Idylls of the King
Alfred Lord Tennyson
The Norton Anthology of Poetry
Mary Jo Salter, Margaret Ferguson, Jon Stallworthy

Northern Lights: The Science, Myth, and Wonder of Aurora Borealis

Northern Lights: The Science, Myth, and Wonder of Aurora Borealis - Calvin Hall, Daryl Pederson Northern Lights focuses on the sky phenomena Aurora Borealis, a Northern-Hemisphere light show that occurs as charged particles enter the atmosphere and causes ionisation. Put simply, the solar winds (bursts from the sun) interact with the Earth's natural magnetism and pretty lights dance about.

The book offers up a side-story accompaniment to the beautiful photographs of many myths and stories surrounding the Northern Lights, including localised tales and conspiracy theories of missing planes. I think the main point anyone would buy this book would be for the photographs: I will admit now that I barely skimmed the wording, not merely because I already know the cause of the Auroras, but also because it was more concerned with Alaska and that does not pique my interest.

The photographs, however, are sublime. Some are of a lower quality than one would like in a book, but they are all as delightful as the next and with each page turn, no two photos are the same, which is definitely true of the Northern Lights itself. They're captured from many different vantage points: from mountains to cities and ski lodges. The Northern Lights are impossible to predict completely, though if there is a strong solar flare from the sun, chances are they will be strong, but you can still never tell if you will see them. It's a risk and a chance that many take and quite often it is missed. At least with this book you can view the spectacle whenever you choose, seeing even the most rare versions of the dancing lights in wonderful colours rarely seen.