Bad Astronomy

Time-lapse: Spirits

Right now, the Sun is heading toward the peak of its active cycle in 2013, blasting out massive storms one after another. These storms scream across the depths of space, and if they interact with our Earth’s magnetic field, they can create ethereal, gorgeous aurorae (the northern and southern lights). It’s one of the more interesting ironies of nature that such violent events on the Sun create some of the most beautiful displays on the Earth.

But they are lovely, as photographer Nicholas Buer is about to show you. From photos taken in northern Norway, he created a time-lapse video of aurorae he’s called Spirits:

[Make sure you set it to high-def and make it full screen!]

Auroae are the result of subatomic particles from the Sun—protons and electrons—captured by the Earth’s magnetic field, and then channeled down into our atmosphere. At a height of about 100 kilometers (60 miles) above the ground, these particles slam into the atoms and molecules in our air, causing them to glow. The colors tell you which atom is which: green and red are from oxygen (usually, that is; sometimes nitrogen can glow red as well but it’s much weaker), while blue is nitrogen. These colors can even sometimes merge to form purple and pink aurorae! It’s quantum mechanics, and it’s gorgeous.

The shape of the aurorae depends on how the magnetic field of the solar storm interacts with the Earth’s, too, forming ribbons, sheets, and curling waves that move across the sky. I’ve never seen an aurora as vivid as this one, but I swear someday I will!

The two things I like most about the video are the fact that it’s in high-definition, so you can make it full-screen and it still looks great, as well as the fact that Buer paid attention to the music he chose, timing the scene cuts to the beat…as well as changing the mood of the video to match the audio. Part of the power of these time lapse animations is the combination of surreal motion, intrinsic beauty, and music, which together make for an amazing experience.

Tip o’ the lens cap to Jenny Winder on Google+.